Nature's Spirit
by ArashiKira
Summary: Sarah is a new girl in town. She meets Tom, the local reject. They imediatly have an understanding for being different than most people...But just how different is he? And could love trully last for these two?
1. Chapter 1

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 1 New Place**

I couldn't believe this. I had come from a beautiful forest home and went to an amazing private school in the mountains and now I had to move...to this?! The dirtiest, dullest and furthest corner of town. Right by the refineries. I had to go to a public school full of the most unclean sort. The only sign of nature in this whole area was a small park by the school. Sure, it had a few neat trees and was ok in size, but still... I started my first day today...

From the start I didn't like it. The inside was so dull and grey. I sat there for my first class. Observing the students that walked in, I began to try to identify what they would be like. That one was obviously popular...she probably had lots of friends and a low iQ.. That girl looks annoying. I bet that guy plays sports. I was approached by a few people who tried to talk to me...y'know, with me being the new girl and all.

I gazed at the specimen adressing me now. " Yeah I'm here if you wanna talk to me and if you need any help, m'kay? This is gonna be lots of fun! You'll see!" I immediately knew we wouldn't get along that well. She was irritating and loud and obviously thought she was the smartest and the best here. This overly cheerful girl had probably never even felt sadness in her life...

I haven't introduced myself. My name is Sarah. Average looking girl, long straight brown hair, brown eyes... Y'know. I've got two cats and one human friend and I doubt I need more. Seeing all these cheerful people, all talking to me, trying to get me to like them... It felt weird. I was used to being an outcast, probably the most rejected person in the whole school! I had been the target since I first began school... Why? Because I thought differently. I valued the life of animals to be equal to that of humans. I'd think things through and I wouldn't hate something unless I had a reason to. And for some reason that made people hate me... Humans in general were a dumb and selective species...and one who couldn't accept differences.

I then paused and looked up to see one guy, sitting alone in a corner. It then hit me why I wasn't being set asside: Someone else already had that position. He was quite tall, tan skin and shaggy brown hair. When he looked up at me, I felt an odd chill run down my spine. He had perfect sky-blue eyes. Eyes had always facinated me and I had never seen any like his. he kept his eerie stare fixed on me, and I stared back. I was used to staring people down. We both ended up blinking and looking away slowly at the same time.

Over the course of the day, I was exposed to more of the locals' obvious stupidity. I saw little girls, not older than 11, smoking marijuana outside school. It was sad... These poor kids obviously didn't have a future and I felt pitty for them. After the bell rang, I felt intrigued by the park next to the school. If there was anywhere I could find something cool, it would be there. I turned around and headed down the trail.

It was nice, not as densely wooded as where I came from, but nice. The air smelled noticeably fresher and I saw all kinds of birds fly about. "Hey. You're the new girl..." I jumped. In my contemplation of the area, I musn't have heard someone coming...

It was him. That guy from class. He had a light blue blouse on, grey shorts and a striped scarf. "Yeah... I used to live in the woods so I guess this place kind of feels like home." He tilted his head to the side, studying me like I studied him. "You're not like the others here..." I blinked. "What do you mean?" I knew of course I wasn't like the others here. I wasn't like anyone anywhere...

"You're...connected to nature. I don't know... You just seem different... Like me..." He said that last part like a whisper. As if he said it only to himself. I looked into his sky blue eyes. "So what's your name?" "Tom." "I'm Sarah." He smiled and nodded, then just turned around and left. I knew if I had any ally here, it was him. But there was still something about him that gave me a weird feeling... Like when you wear an old sweather and you get all static-y.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 2 Slender**

It had been a few weeks since school started. Everything was pretty much still the same... I only had one friend, I spent my days alone and I vaguely interacted with that weird guy Tom. He was actually the smartest kid in school, by my opinion. It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that he wasn't from around here either. He also came from a wooded area west to here.

I was bored. No school today, nobody to be with, no nothing. Angie, my best friend, was in school right now. I hadn't really left the house since I moved here, except to go to school, so I decided to try that little park with the wooded area close to the school. It was a fairly nice place and it wasn't too far of a walk. Yeah, like 45 minutes isn't too far...Well, for me it isn't. It's not like I had anywhere else to be. But it wasn't just boredom, I felt like I HAD to go there.

The air of the city smelled toxic, stuffy and stale. It felt so good to be in an area that had a few trees at least. It wasn't anything like the forests back home, but it was something. I took a breath of slightly less polluted air and started to look around. I eventually ended-up wandering off the path.

Now normally, walking alone in the woods in a crime filled area is a terrible idea, but for some reason, I felt I had to go here. Something would happen if I went here...and it did.

Up ahead, I saw a small rabbit, ensnared in wires. _Poor thing! _I slowly began to make my way over to the struggling animal, steadying myself on the small rock face next to me for balance.

I was mere feet away from the rabbit when it noticed me and began to panic.

"Shh shh it's ok! I'm here to help!" I bent down and stretched out my hand to the small rodent. After a bit, it calmed down and I got closer. It still looked terrified when I finally grabbed the wires and began to untangle him.

Suddently, I had the eerie sensation of being watched. I briefly looked around me but saw nothing. I finished undoing the knots and let the small rabbit go. It dashed off into the bushes and dissapeared from sight. "Bye!" I waved to it, knowing very well it couldn't understand me.

I smiled and I stood up to leave, but as I turned around, my attention was drawn to the top of the small rock face.

There, standing on top of it, was a tall faceless man. My blood ran cold in my veins and I held my breath.

His skin was white as snow and he had to be about 8 feet tall. I recognised the Slenderman instantly, only, he wasn't wearing a black suit and a tie.

He had a blue blouse, grey shorts and a striped scarf.

I stood there in a stunned silence for what could have been 5 seconds as easily as 5 hours before something clicked in my mind. There was a familiar feeling to this all. It wasn't just his clothes, it was the static feeling I got from being close to him.

I looked up into the figure's "eyes", now seeing that he was as tense from being seen as I was from seeing him. At first, I had trouble finding my voice, but I finally managed to croak out "T-Tom?"

He flinched slightly, seeming to bite the inside of his cheek before sitting on the edge of the rock face, dangling his legs down and dropping to my level, though he still stood a good 3 feet taller than me. "Sarah..." His voice wavered, full of worry. We still stared at each other, a staredown similar to the one we had on my first day at school. Only this time, he had no eyes... Could he even really see me? He must. He was looking right down at me.

"I figured someone would find out about what I am eventually..." I blinked, startled from my thoughts when I heard him speak again. "And what is that exactly?"

He looked to me again, with an eyeless stare, before saying, in a somewhat annoyed tone that simply said _isn't it obvious? _"I'm a slender." I felt a chill go down my spine. Of course he was.

There was so much said around the web about the Slenderman. Dark, mysterious and powerful, a creature that kills, kidnaps children and tortures mortal fools through the mind. Some claimed he was immortal. How was this kid, this 14-15 year old kid in my class, now standing over 8 feet tall and faceless? How could he be this very same popular internet creature?

As if he read my mind, and he very well may have, I don't know what he can do, he's a slender! He started to explain. "We're not exactly what the Internet thinks of us... Not these big scary immortal demons. Well, yeah...I guess I'm scary...We also have a human image, which we are born as. It really helps blend into this modern world... But I suppose people might think that we're all one guy who's lived for centuries...I mean, not too many features to recognize! Hehe.."

I giggled slightly, more so at his own obvious stiffness and nervousness than at his joke. He was this all mighty monster from legends and I was just this little girl and I seemed more comfortable with the situation than he did. Well, we were the same age, but you get it. He spoke to me again, now having a serious tone. "Why did you save that rabbit?"

Rabbit? Oh. Right. Why does he care? " I think all life is life. I wouldn't want that innocent creature to suffer and die a pointless death." He grinned at my answer, and I shuddered a bit when I noticed his teeth would be more fittingly called fangs. "I was right about you. You are different."

"So apreciating life makes me different?" He looked away with a somewhat annoyed look on his "face". "You'd be surprised about how most humans are" I scrunched my nose in disgust as well. I had seen Animal Cops and other shows as such and I knew how many people treated the world around them. I had always known from the moment I saw him that he was different, but I never expected this!

I looked down to my watch and was surprised to see it was already 6 o'clock. Angie is gonna freak out if I dissapear this long!

"I should go now." He looked dissapointed for half a second but quickly returned to his ordinary expression. "Oh ok, I guess I'll be seeing you at school then." I smiled and nodded, thinking of how this creature was really just a kid in my class. That would add some awkwardness when we'd interact at school for sure...

I left the wooded area in a haste and hurried home. I felt a little bad about telling his secret to Angie, but she was my best friend and I definitely trusted her. I hoped he wouldn't be mad if he found out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 3 Believe**

"What?!" That was Angie's only response when I called her on Skype that night. It is to be expected. How would you react if your best friend called you to say "Hey, I found a friend here and guess what? He's the Slenderman!" Well, he's not technically THE Slenderman, but still...

"You don't believe me, do you?" There was a pause. "Well, you're my best friend... and this is just so weird. I guess I have no choice but to believe you, I mean, why the heck would you ever make that up?!" I smiled at her answer. We had long since promised to never lie to each other. Part of me felt guilty for going home right away to tell Tom's secret straight to Angie, but I told her everything. I never promised HIM to never lie...and I wasn't lying, I was being honest. I had to tell her this. This was pretty big after all...

My thoughts were interrupted when my cat meowed while staring out the window intently. I got up and looked out, but I saw nothing in the darkness. I did feel, however, static overcome me. It was like it was grazing my mind, taking in everything I was, all my thoughts. I then heard a slight disturbance in my earphones and I struggled to understand my friend's words. I started to get goosebumps and my hairs stood up. My confusion only lasted a few seconds though. How many things could cause this? "Um Angie, there's a problem with the call. Let me see if I can fix it. I'll be right back." I paused the call, took out my earphones and opened the window and called out into the darkness. "Quit it! Sorry, ok?" I'm not even sure if he really was here, but I had no other explanation. I actually tried my best to think calmly now... He was a friend after all. Wait, when did I start to see him as a friend?

The air seemed to calm. "She's my best friend... I trust her..." The night was silent for a bit, then the crickets resumed their chirping and the regular sounds returned. Cars driving by, occasional sirens, even the wind that had stilled picked up once more. I picked up the call again, glad to see there was no longer any disturbance. "So, what was the problem?" I looked at her through the screen, biting the inside of my cheek a bit. I giggled when it reminded me of what Tom did earlier. Angie looked confused for a bit, but didn't ask any questions. "Anyway, it's getting late and I think I should go now." I nodded to her, still trying to figure things out. She may have noticed I was being distracted, maybe not. It didn't really matter anyway...

After our conversation, I went to get ready to go to bed. I got dressed in my pyjamas, went to brush my teeth and came back to my room. It was only then that a thought occured to me. "Wait a minute... Why was he even at my house?" I went back to the window, as if the darkness could answer my questions. I scanned the distance for a bit, seeing nothing abnormal. I felt no static. He was gone. This was so weird. So today I found out some guy from school was a slender, and now he was in my yard at night? How long had he been stalking me? Was this some kind of weird slender rule that when someone finds out their secret, they have to start following that person around? And why wasn't I bothered by this? I was about to pull the curtains over my window for the night, but for some reason, I don't know why, I stopped. I just left the curtains open. Perhaps as a sign of trust. I switched off the lights and went to bed.

It took me so long to get to sleep. Every time I'd close my eyes, I'd see his blank face. He couldn't leave my mind. I tossed and turned, feeling too warm one second but wanting to wrap myself in my blankets the next. Part of me was scared he was watching me... He was, technically, the Slenderman after all. Wasn't that what he did? I felt no static though, which I always felt in his presence, be he human or not at the time. With a new certain calm, I closed my eyes and stopped tossing around. I snuggled my stuffed turtle closer to me, burrying my face onto it's fuzzy back and carelessly tossing one of my blankets over my eyes. My mind continued to be plagued for several minutes afterwards, or was it an hour? Two hours? I don't even know... The blanket over my face hid my eyes from the window, not letting me see if the sky had brightened a little bit. I was too comfortable at last to even dare try to move it. Finally, I managed to fall asleep.

He was in my dreams that night. That whole seen in the forest kept replaying over and over in my mind. Always with alternate endings. Sometimes, he'd kill me. Others, he'd hold me. Wrapping me in long slender arms, I could feel his body heat and hear his breathing...

I woke-up with a start, confused as to what the heck I had just dreamed about. I'd never had dreams like that before...I briefly recalled things I read on the Slenderman over the internet...about something called "Slender Sickness" I believe... It messed with one's mind, and my mind was certainly messed with. But for some reason, one I couldn't find no matter how much I gave it thought, I wanted to keep him as my friend. And I'll admit, that last dream had felt somewhat comforting...

**AN: this story might take long to write. That's because my parents are divorced and I forgot my password to this account, so I only have it on one computer. So during the summer, I can only add chapters one week out of two. I guess I should also mention I do not own Slenderman, but I thought that was pretty dang obvious. Anyway, enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 4 Weird Feelings**

It felt so strange to go back to school. Just seeing Tom sit there like a normal person, it felt odd. I didn't even understand how it was possible. Tan skin, shaggy hair and stunning eyes. How could this become a pale, hairless and faceless creature? Somehow, he was though. I had seen it with my own eyes...There was a certain discomfort in just being near each other. I didn't even mention what happened last night with the phone call. That would only make it worst... I cared about his presence. He's the only friend I had here. The only person I felt I could connect to...

During class, I felt a strange buzzing sensation going down my spine. All my hairs stood up. It was static, but not proding at my conciousness, but rather calming me. I turned towards him to see him smiling slightly. I guess this was a sort of sign of peace, to show we were still friends and all. This made me happy. I don't know why his friendship really mattered, but it did. I realized I was almost falling asleep in class now actually! I willed myself awake, feeling the static stop abruptly. I turned to him one more time, seeing him giving me a sheepish smile as if appologising. I smiled back.

I tried to return my attention to the teacher. Our history class was so dreadfully boring. I twirled my pencil in my hand and gazed absent-mindedly at a fly that was rubbing it's legs together on the edge of my text book. It was such a facinating creature to watch. Most people would just kill it or swat it away, but if you just take the time to look at it, you can be surprised. All of it's little movements, every action it does. It's shining eyes just watching your every move, ready to flee at the first sign of danger. It kind of reminded me of me, of us. All those kids that get isolated, rejected. Nobody ever takes the time to look and see that we're more than that. Nobody takes the time to see the greatness that lies beyond those first impressions...

I felt the biggest relief of my life so far when the bell rang. Most students had all their things packed and were ready to bolt out the door instantly. I slowly put my books away and got up, following the flow of students out the door. Me and Tom parted ways temporarily, not really giving each other any sign whatsoever. I was going to English class, which was certainly less boring than history! I guess this day was going to be ok, right? Wrong! Upon my arrival, I was dissapointed to notice that we were doing team projects. Even more so when I saw with who I was. Frankly, I didn't know her name, but I knew I didn't like her.

This little airhead wanted me to do all the hard work and she also got the credit for most of it. I felt my blood boil with rage, but I kept my cool. I occasionaly spared a glance at the slender who sat across the room, working on his own text with some nerdy looking guy with glasses. Then, I started feeling...weird. It was hard to find anything like it in my experiences. It was like... Like the feeling you get when you're against the final boss of a video game. When he's almost dead, but so are you. That weird adrenaline rush, that mix of frustration and glee. Everything felt warm around me, as though a fire was burning within me.

I was suddently filled with slight fear. Where had I read about someone getting a "weird feeling"? If slenders were real...could Jeff the Killer's story be real too? I looked over to the girl who sat in front of me. "Whadda ya lookin' at?" That was her only response to my questioning stare. "Nothing..." I despised this girl from the moment I saw her. Her mannerisms made me want to just punch her in the face. I didn't even know her name! Would I end-up killing this girl? What if I killed someone I cared about, like Angie, or Tom... At the thought of him, the sensation intensified... This wasn't directed at this girl in front of me...it was directed at him.

That's when I paused. I paused and thought things over. _No...That's not possible! _But it was. It made a heck of a lot more sense than the first thing I was thinking, sometimes I really don't understand the way my brain works. I wasn't filled with murderous thoughts, I was in love... This might sound crazy, but that scared me more than the thought of having a killer's instinct. I had never liked anyone in my life before. Why is it that my mind had to choose someone who wasn't even human to be the first? That just added even more awkwardness to the situation... I suddently found my mind, focusing on all the things I admired in him...even if I was fighting against it, screaming at my own subconcious to stop. My mind kept spinning, the same thoughts returning... _He likes animals. He's smart. He's cute. Cute... _I never thought that way before... Love really did alter my mind.

That girl sitting in front of me got frustrated, snapping her fingers and glaring at me. "Hey, nerd-freak, wake up and help me!" I shot her a death glare, which she returned. Her empty looking brown eyes showed no emotion, no soul... She snapped at me again, venom dripping from her irritating voice. "It's your fault if we fail, so move your butt and write!" Now I was starting to think that maybe having murderous thoughts towards this girl might actually make more sense than falling in love...

Through the rest of that day, I was comfronted to a harsh reality. You can keep having an ok life and talk normally and stuff while you're in love, until you realize you are. I practically forgot how to walk after one conversation, and I wasn't able to look him in the eyes anymore. His amazing blue eyes... Eyes were one thing that I had always noticed in people. I didn't see it as being anything romantic, I could just love someone's eye color, no matter who they were. But his...they were one of a kind, just like he was. I ground my teeth together once more as I thought of how my sanity was broken by this... It had only been a few hours I realized my feelings and I was already practically obsessed with the guy! Though this was the first time I ever felt anything for anyone...I wasn't sure if this was normal or not...

He obviously noticed my awkwardness. I wasn't sure if he knew the reason for it though, but a big part of me was convinced he did. He shot me a few worried looks, trying to calm me with static again. This only increased that strange feeling, making my cheeks feel hot. We spoke less, speaking more awkwardly, but he kept his aura connected to me... And this, I was greatful for. His static gave me an odd sense of safety and peace. I was pretty sure he knew...But just in case he didn't, I'd still try my best to hide it.

I got home that day, frustrated, confused, and most of all, scared. Why? Well...what if he hated me for liking him?


	5. Chapter 5

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 5 Light as a Feather**

It was an other normal night. I was just sitting in my room at my computer, reading fan fictions, listening to music, normal stuff. But on the inside, it felt like my whole world was flipped upside down. I was nervously twirling a strand of my long brown hair between my fingers, chewing my lip to the point of tearing off flesh. I was in love and I didn't know if I liked it or not yet. The thoughts of going back to school the next day gave me the sensation that a fire was building in my stomach. Was this what they called "butterflies"? They certainly didn't feel like butterflies... Unless they were butterflies set on fire! I felt like I was set free and flying, but also binded in heavy chains all at once. Confusion filled my mind and I tried desperately to sort out my thoughts.

I was scared nearly to the point of falling off my chair when Angie called me on Skype. She gave me a malicious grin."Hey Sarah! So how are things going between you and Slendy?" "Shut up!" I knew she was teasing, she liked doing that since, apparently, I only talked about him... I was legitimately worried of what she would think if she knew that I actually did feel something for him. He wasn't human, after all...And I had never liked anybody! I decided to counter tease. "What about you and Johnny?" She blushed a bright red and I smirked evily. I wasn't the only one to like somebody. _Well the guy she likes is of her own species at least! _I bit my lip again at my thoughts.

Angie eyed me suspiciously through the screen, still blushing madly. She asked no questions and carried on speaking, which I was thankful for. "Well...I have this friend who told me that this guy told her that he told him that he liked me." I struggled to keep back a giggle at that. "Seriously? That sounds like something you'd hear in Spongebob!" She tilted her head to the side as I spoke. "You're acting kind of weird, Sarah. You sure you're ok?" I blinked and bit my lip again. I knew from experience that I wasn't one to blush, and I think I was pretty good at hiding my emotions. But this was messing with my mind so bad... I feigned ignorance, hoping I could get rid of her suspicions. "What do you mean?" I unwillingly clung to my leg, digging my fingernails into my flesh. I bit my tongue to try to ignore the new pain in my leg. "Well you seem lost in thought, and your talking is stiff." She looked like she was about to add more, but I saw her eyes widen slightly and her jaw drop. She knew...

I couldn't help but gain a goofy grin and lowered my head in shame. Sometimes it felt like she could read my mind. "Oh my God... You DO like him!" I couldn't answer. I tried, but words refused to leave my mouth. I swiftly gave a glance to my cat to see if he was showing any abnormal behavior. I didn't want any uninvited slenders listening in on this conversation. Her face quickly shifted to one of concern and I looked up. "But Sarah... he's not human. What if..what if..." I looked into the camera with an irritated glare. "What if what?" "What if he'd rather be with members of his own kind?"

I thought for a few minutes. What if he did? It didn't matter. I never asked to fall in love. I never asked to like anybody. The feeling was just not needed and I could live my whole life single, just fine. "I don't care." She just smirked slightly. I knew she was unconvinced... She knew a lot more about love than I did. Neither of us had ever been in a relationship and we still had never had our first kiss, but she had fallen in love several times before and had her heart broken every time... I wouldn't be like that...I refused to think I could be. After our call ended, I finished the songs I was listening to before and got ready to go to bed. I gazed off into the night out my window, seeing nothing but darkness and hearing nothing but the cars rolling down on the nearby road. Part of me was glad he wasn't here tonight, but an other part longed for his presence... I cursed that part of my mind. I went to go to bed. Sleep came even later tonight than it did that other night. I had so much more to think of now... I'm in love. He might not feel anything for me... No matter how much I told myself over and over I didn't care, I knew deep inside me that that was a lie.

That night, I had this strange dream. I was in the forest, back where I found out Tom was a slender. I was all alone and it was starting to rain. I ran and ran, not knowing where I was going. The trees seemed duller, less defined. They had finer, more angular shapes rather than the natural density of the forest I had known. I got to a clearing that looked identical to the one I started in, only a little darker, and stopped. Mist shrouded the area. An unusual and unatural violet-tinted heavy mist that clung to the ground, appearing to swallow away anything that was in it's path. There was a figure that appeared from the mist. She was obviously female, despite being faceless and hairless. Dark tendrills sprouted from her back and wavered around. Even if she had no eyes, I knew she was glaring at me. Her long black dress, trailing on the ground and blending into the shadows only made her seem even more terrifying. She looked up to me, tilting her head to the side at an odd angle. "Leave now, human! You don't belong here." I shook my head, trying to back away but thorns wrapped around my ankles. She told me to run again. I tried, but the thorns held me in place as she got closer and closer. Her long and sharp fangs seemed to glint as she left her mouth open, hissing at me. I stared her down, despite the icy fear that filled me.

I woke up in a cold sweat to the sound of my alarm clock, accidentally knocking my cat off the bed. Despite my nightmare, I felt light as a feather as I got ready to go to school, knowing I would see him again. His presence always calmed me, and he would always make me smile. I felt once again that fire in my stomach. Maybe being in love wasn't too bad...


	6. Chapter 6

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 6 Waking up**

I arrived at school that day, knowing I started in English class. I was reminded of being forced to work with that annoying self-centered chick. As I suspected, she still did nothing and knew nothing of what we were doing. I tried to speak to her. "Hey! Hey! You think you could make yourself usefull?" She turned from her cellphone, which she was not even supposed to have in class and gave me a death glare. "Make myself usefull? I have a life, tree hugger. If anyone should make themselves usefull, it's you!" I clenched my fists in anger, but kept my cool. I felt a slight static buzz at the edge of my mind, indicating a change in the local slender's aura. Just then, her bright pink iPhone started to ring in a high-pitch, static-y sound. Us both, and a few kids around, brought our hands to our ears, wincing in pain. The screen then got fuzzy and faded to black.

"What?! But this is brand new!" She struggled to turn it on, but the screen remained black. Crying, indigniated, she smacked it against her desk, making me jump back slightly in surprise."Miss, I'll be taking that please." I looked up to see the English teacher, obviously annoyed by the disturbance brought to his class. She sloppily dropped her expensive phone in the teacher's hand, giving the most stupidly immature grumpy face I had ever seen and went to being completly silent. I smirked slightly, givin her a mischivious glare, even if I knew she wasn't looking towards me. I looked to the back of the classroom to find Tom giving me a mischivious grin. I grinned back, feeling my cheeks get slightly hot. I swiftly averted my gaze and resumed work, praying he didn't see me blush...Darn it, since when did I blush?!

Later in the hallways, he walked over to me. I managed to look up in the general area of his eyes, but found myself unable to keep eye contact with him. Still, I spoke, trying to sound normal. "Hey thanks for saving me from the lipstick monster!" He laughed at my comment, and I briefly froze. I never heard him laugh before. That sound. That sound was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. It sent chills down my spine and lit that fire in me again. I snapped out of my trance and muttered more to myself than to him. "I wish Jigglypuff was here to take care of her. Would be funny to draw on her precious make-up covered face..." He stopped moving. "You're into Pokémon?" _Oh crap. I let that slip._ It wasn't exactly a common and "cool" thing for a 15 year old girl to play something often seen as childish such as Pokémon. I had this anxiety that if anyone found out, they'd call me baby, or lesbian. All kinds of dumb stuff. And it had happened before. Seeing as I didn't answer and also stopped moving, he suddently gained the widest grin I had ever seen. "Me too! I thought I was the only teen here to have an interest for that. A lot of people make fun of me for it." I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and simply replied, as we resumed our walk. "Tell me about it." I think I was starting to get used to this...

The rest of the day went by smoothly. He wasn't in most of my classes and he ate at home, so I didn't really get to see him. We did come across each other a few other times and talked a bit about our newfound common interest. "Hey it just occured to me that since you're a slender, wouldn't you affect technology? I mean... look at what you did this morning!" He nodded, humming slightly. "Then how can you play video games so much?" I smirked. "I only affect them when I want to, and only in ways I want to. If you ever go on multiplayer for most games, there's this rumor that I'm cursed. Cursed to give everyone I play against horrible lag!" I couldn't hold back a laugh. "Cheater!" He gave me a mallicious smile. "I'm a Slenderman. I do what I want!" I laughed, feeling far happier than I had felt in a long, long time.

It wasn't until the last class of that day that everything went crashing down. That I fell down from my little cloud. That I woke up from my stupid little dream. Dreams are all the same, you always have to wake-up. And it was all because of one little sentence I overheard, part of a conversation I wasn't a part of. It was Tom, talking to that guy he worked with in English class. "So how's your girlfriend?" I looked up quickly, I couldn't help it. I was worried he saw my head jerk up. Someone must have... I saw that as he answered the guy's question, his eyes met mine, holding the slightest hint of sorrow. "Jessie? She's fine. It'll be her birthday soon."

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation. I tried to keep the same face I always did, but I knew that my eyes seemed a little bit more dull, a little bit more lifeless, a little bit more crushed. I knew I lied to myself when I said I didn't care... I was stupid. Stupid to believe he could care for me...

At least this was the last class of the day. I could just go home right after. Nobody would have to look at me. Nobody would know I had a broken heart. I wouldn't have to have an other awkward conversation, even if I secretly longed to be by his side right now... I suddently felt that odd comforting static feeling again. It gave me goosebumps and shivers going down my spine, and it managed to calm me. I think he wanted to talk to me. So much for going home right away, I just hope I didn't give too much away.

**AN: I don't often put up author's notes because I myself pretty much never read them in fanfics unless I'm really bored and I've read the story like 5 times before. I'm pretty sure nobody is going to read this. Anyway, yadadadada I don't own Slenderman, or Pokemon, Or Jigglypuff, or a pony. I don't get why so many people want ponies. They poop a lot and it's big poops. Anyway, congratulations if you read this! You won nothing, but I hope you were entertained.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 7 Hope, I think...**

I walked straight to the woods near the school, knowing he would be there. He actually caught up to me on the way there, but we said nothing to each other until we got to the actuall forested area, where we usually met. That was the first time I actually saw him change his form. Until then, it had always confused me. How could someone so human, with such a nice face and such nice hair, become a tall and faceless slender? He looked around us briefly, making sure nobody was watching, then his skin tone paled until becoming as white as a sheet. He shut his eyes, only to have his eyelashes vanish along with his eyebrows as his eyelids seemed to fuze into his flesh. His hair appeared to melt onto his head and he grew, only in height, from around 5 foot 10 to around 8 feet tall. I looked over him, staring in mute facination. You didn't need to have feelings for the guy to agree that that was impressive. His shorts, which previously went below his knees, now seemed a lot more like actual short shorts. I now understood the use of his usually slightly too long shirts. He stretched his arms a bit and briefly released 8 tendrills from his back, curling them slightly before making them dissapear again.

Looking back down to my facinated expression, he smirked slightly and spoke with a more gentle than usual voice. "That was your first time seeing that, right?" I simply nodded. "I guess it could surprise anyone." I couldn't really look anywhere near his "face". I felt shy and full of an odd sorrow. "What's the purpose of your tendrills? I never really saw them on you before." He tilted his head slightly to the side. "I wasn't sure if they would...disturb you." He extended them again slightly. I looked on in facination, taking in his every word."They're the same as having extra arms, only more flexible. Some of our kind even end up barelly using their arms anymore, only rellying on these. But since I want to live and have a job in human society, and I have too much fun goofing off with other teenage kids, mainly humans, they don't get that much use." I smiled and finally looked up at his lack of a face. I spared a slight glance at the tendrills, some wavering slightly with the breeze, others curled tightly around his arms and waist. They were nothing like the ones of that terrifying girl in my dreams. Hers dropped to the ground and slithered about slightly like heavy snakes. They were much darker and more menacing. They made my skin crawl. His reminded me of the branches of a weeping willow. They showed an odd poetic depth, just like his signature scarf did.

It became impossible to avoid the reason we were here. He gave a slight sigh and looked over into the distance. "Jessie is a slender too." I briefly remembered Angie's words. _What if he'd rather be with members his own kind? _I said I didn't care. That was a lie. I liked him a lot. A lot more than I should. It is to be expected, we're the only really decent people in this dead hole full of junkies and pot heads, where the standard for genius at school was to have the iQ of a potato. I tilted my head slightly. Why did he seem to care so much? Why did he explain this to me? He continued to speak. "We're not exactly a common people. When our famillies came across each other, our parents just had to get us together. I was a guy, she was a girl, we were the same age." I sensed it again, that slight sorrow in his voice. "But why are you telling me all this? What does it have to do with me?" He looked me right in the eyes. I have no idea how I knew that, considering he had none himself. "I know you like me. You're not the best at hiding your feelings. At least from me. I can sense your aura, which tells me your emotions pretty much." I lowered my head in shame. I mentally begged that we could at least stay friends. I felt something strange, seemingly both hot and cold at once wrap around my wrist. I looked up from the ground in curiosity. It was one of his tendrills. The other 7 were a bit more stiff now, almost all of them wrapped around himself. "I just wanted you to know that that's the reason. That I'm with Jessie, I mean."

I processed this information. _Does that mean he likes me too?_ I thought back of the way he always acted towards me. It felt like he was always by my side. _He does like me._ But an other part of me told me that if he really did, he would stay with me. He wouldn't stay with this girl. A girl... a girl slender. The images from my nightmare popped up in my mind. I suddently didn't feel as safe in these woods. The image of that dark mist...of her. Her black dress and tendrills trailing behind her. "I think I should start heading home." "Wait." I looked back up to him. The fadding golden sun's rays streaming through the trees cast a mosaic of light and darkness on his blank face. The green of the surrounding trees contrasted perfectly with the tan, blue and grey of his outfit. Even the light passing through his semi-transparent tendrills was a sight to behold. If I could make a scene last forever in my mind, it would be this. I wish I had a camera so I could take a picture and draw this later.

"I'll take you home." He wrapped two more tendrills around my wrists and suddently, I felt us dissapearing like smoke in the wind. Not even a second after, I was in my own yard. "I think I like having a slender for a friend." He smiled as well and vanished again, leaving me to stare where he once stood. I knew he came in my yard often, he watched me at times. I could feel his presence. Maybe I was crazy, but I kind of enjoyed it. I walked into my house. I looked over at the time. 3:40?! I was nearly half an hour early! And I had had that conversation in the woods. Surelly, this was something fun to have around. I'm glad my mom wasn't home, she'd be asking me how I'd gotten here so fast. She would probably think I skipped school.


	8. Chapter 8

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 8 Haunting Nightmares**

I got an early Skype call from Angie as soon as I went online. "Hey Angie, aren't you in school?" "I went home early, I passed out." I raised a brow, feeling concerned. "Why? Are you ok?" She smiled a huge smile and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "I'm more than ok!" I blinked and moved my head back in confusion. "What?" "Johnny asked me out...and he kissed me!" I grinned a huge grin. I knew those two would end up together. It was so obvious they liked each other. My joy was somewhat cut short when I realized the horrible emptiness in the pit of my stomach. _Tom... _I nonchalently asked, knowing my voice was drained of life: "So how does it feel to get your first kiss?" Her smile fadded slightly at my sudden change of mood, but she did answer. "I wouldn't want to spoil it for you, but it felt good. Weird, but good."

I grinned half-heartedly at her comment. "And what makes you think I'll ever get kissed by anyone?" Her smile had now completly fadded. "But... doesn't Tom like you? Because from what you told me, even before you showed any signs of liking him, he sure showed signs of liking you." I heard a faint sound of static on the line, and I knew he was listening. I didn't care and carried on anyway. "He has a girlfriend." Her mouth opened slightly as if to say something, but no sound came for a few seconds. "A slender?" I looked down. "Yeah..." She never gave me time to recall our conversation in the woods, she was too busy gushing about how perfect her and Johnny were together. She had found all her joy once again. She was too cheerfull at times to trully understand me. Things more often than not went well for her. I listened, occasionally closing my eyes and imagining that that could be me.

What would it be like if I had found true love like that? _You did. _He was taken. I knew he might have liked me, but he was taken, and maybe he'd grow to like her more. I think she realized that I wasn't paying that much attention anymore. "Hey I gotta go help my dad with something, I'll talk to you later!" We said our little farewells and parted ways temporarilly. It was true that she often frustrated me more than a lot of things could, and I always felt like she was showing off all her successes, even if she knew that I barelly had any. She just sat there and took in all the praise, never returning any. But she was my best friend, and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I knew she wasn't a bad person.

I laid back on my bed and gave myself time to think. If I could just go back in time and tell the old me that I'd start crushing on this slender kid and tell him right away... But that would change everything. Maybe I could change a little something that would make me happy, it would most likely make someone else suffer like I did. I would never make anybody or anything suffer only for my own happiness. Suddently, an odd sense of approval radiated from the back of my mind. I furrowed my brows and got up to my window, opening it. "Can you hear my thoughts?" "No, but I can sense your emotions and bassic mental pattern." I stretched myself halfway out the window to see Tom, laying belly down on one of the beams that held up the up-stairs neighbors' balcony. His locks of brown hair hung donwards, revealing his slightly overly hairy eyebrows.

_They're kinda cute._ I couldn't stop myself from thinking that. I couldn't stop my emotions from coming to the surface, and the slight blush he gained showed me that he had picked up on that. I tried to change the subject. "How often do you do that, just hang out my window there?" He then slid himself forward, grabing the side of the balcony and lowering himself gently until his foot touched the rail of the balcony out my window. He let go and stood there, perfectly balanced on the rail. I raised a brow, admitedly impressed. I had climbed all sorts of places most of my life, but I highly doubt I could pull that off. He finally answered. "Often enough." I smiled. His smile quickly vanished though. "Have you had any nightmares recently?"

I froze. How did he know? "Yes." "About a slender, a girl?" I nodded. "Was she telling you something agressive... I don't know. Around the lines of LEAVE or something?" I nodded again. I felt a slight fear get a grip of me. "Should I be worried?" "Yes and no. It's just that some of our kind are a bit more gifted than others with our special talents. Jessie, she can actually manipulate people's dreams. She doesn't exactly approve of me... feeling anything for anyone other than her." "Wait, feeling anything?" He blushed slightly again. "My point is, she won't murder you, so you don't have to worry about that. The worst she can do would be to take a bit of sleep away from you. But I just needed to know if she was doing anything. I'll try to get her to stop." I smiled, trying to ignore his little slip-up. I felt hope fill me slightly again. _Feeling something. _"But...how did she..?" "Know about this and where you live? She enjoys watching my dreams...and apparently, I dreamed about you." I blushed madly at this, to which he smirked.

That night, the nightmares didn't stop though, no not at all. I was in the woods again, the fadding rays of light beaming down. I saw that rabbit. The one that brought us together in the first place, but there was an odd dark aura around it. It morphed and grew, eventually becoming her. "Jessie..." I managed to let it out in a whisper. She growled at me, showing her abnormally pointed teeth. Her heavy tendrills rose slightly from the ground and began to rush towards me. I was able to avoid most of them, but a few wrapped around my arms and legs. I pried them off and ran. I found a tall and sturdy pine tree and managed to climb it. Looking back down, I saw her there again. She wore a black dress that dragged across the ground, sweeping up the pine needles and dead leaves. Her tendrills trailled behind her, reminding me of the veil of some bride from out of Hell. Her footware, high-heels, prevented her from getting up the tree and she snarled, frustrated. She fadded back into the darkness of my mind. If she could control my dreams, why didn't she just find a way to bring me down, or fly up? That's when I took the time to see. All the other trees in this mental woodland were dead. Everything was grey. But this pine tree, this one pine tree. It was alive and a flamboyant shade of green. If she could create my nightmares, why would she include this? Where did it come from? I then felt the dream world seep away and finally fell into peaceful sleep, barelly registering the calming rush of static that filled me.


	9. Chapter 9

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 9 Guardian**

I woke up the next day, remnants of that dream still floating in my mind. _Tom helped me. He saved me._ I got up and was about to get dressed, until I remembered it was Saturday. It was early, the sun was only just rising. I thought of going back to sleep, but my mind was wide awake. It was then that I looked outside again, at the balcony, and gasped. The chairs had been knocked over and there were a few scratches and bumps on the whole area. There was a fight on my balcony last night. _Tom._ I rushed outside and placed the chairs back to their original positions, tracing my fingers gently over one of the bumps left on the railing of the balcony. I shuddered at the thought of the power it took to cause that much damage. I tried to eat as much as I could and got dressed. I knew my mom wouldn't be up until an other few hours, so I got up and headed out. I had time to walk to the woods...

When I reached the street in front of my school, the street I knew he lived on, I made sure to walk extra slowly. If he could sense my presence, he might come out and join me. I went to our usual spot in the forest, but was met with an unusual sight. Tom was indeed here, in slender form, in his pyjamas and looking asleep. His breathing was slower than usual but not slow enough for me to think he was actually sleeping. He uttered out a senseless grumble and began rubbing his face. He smiled when I approached, but didn't move from his position.

"I thought our shouting would wake you up early, and I knew you'd come here."I looked at him, concerned. "You didn't get any sleep at all?" "None." I sat down next to him, my back agains that rock face. I felt two of his tendrills find their way to my ankle and wrap around it. He sent me that comforting static sense. I blushed and looked to my feet. "Thanks for saving me in that dream. You made that tree appear, didn't you?" He smiled weakly. "Not exactly. Jessie made that tree appear. I'm not gifted in any way for my powers, so I can't really affect the way people think. The most I can do is mild calming. Or overwhelm them with static, like all slenders can, but I never had to do that... I simply whispered in her ear while she was focused. Her subconcious made that tree appear." I smiled. He was so smart...I noticed a few bruises on his pale arms. "We had a fight..." "I'm sorry" He pushed himself up a bit. "Why are YOU sorry?" "Well, none of this would happen if I wasn't here."

I'm not entirelly sure what happened next, but his hand reached over, brought my chin up, and light as a feather, his lips brushed against mine. My eyes widened in surprise. I was stunned, unable to move. He laid back down, back against the rock and stared off into the distance. I felt the tendrills around my ankle cling to me a bit harder, and noticed all of his other tendrills winding around anything they could, clinging on for dear life. I gazed into the same spot he did, my mind seemingly having stopped. I couldn't breath, I couldn't think. Slowly, my mind began to work again, my cheeks turning red. He spoke, barelly a whisper. "I broke-up with Jessie. I don't know how our parents will react." I impulsively grabbed his hand, holding it tight.

"I never really liked her, but she fell for me." I couldn't help but say "I can see why." He smirked a bit. "I just went along with it because, well, our parents wanted me to be with an other slender. Both of them have been pure blood 100% slender for generations. I don't know if they'd want me to be with a human. Over time, Jessie took over. I just did nothing. I let her take me around, I let her say all that stuff about us, but I could feel that this wasn't meant to be. Then I met you." Our fingers intertwined and we got a bit closer to each other.

"I've even had several people come up to me to tell me that we appeared to be made for one an other." We both blushed slightly and I nodded in approval. "Yeah. You're not the only one they went to." It wasn't always in a positive way, but there was indeed a large number of people who'd say things like "Hey freaks! You two should totally get together!" or some more kind things, like this one girl who said to me once "You two look like you were just made for one another!" He gave a mighty yawn, fully showing off his teeth, which could be better called fangs. I grinned to him, still feeling a slight tingle on my lips. "You need sleep. Thanks for helping me, by the way." He grinned. "Yeah, I should. And it was no problem. Jessie had no right to do that." We both stood, up, only a few seconds later realizing our hands were still connected and his tendrills still clung to my foot. He retracted the apendages into his back, but instead of letting go my hand, he took the other as well. My heart rate increased as I felt his slightly colder than average hands.

I looked up over to him and he bent down, this time trully giving me a kiss worthy of being called "first kiss" He was warm, gentle and soft, like the feathers of a baby bird. I could hear the rapid beating of his heart, knowing he could hear mine. I felt like I had lightning going down my spine, all my hairs stood up. I felt the first rays of the morning sun warm me and once again, a fire lit the pit of my stomach. This whole moment probably only lasted about a second, but it felt like an hour to me. When I looked up again, we were no longer in the woods, but on my balcony. He let my hands go and fadded like smoke on the wind. I climbed back into my window and flopped down onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. _He kissed me._ Angie was right. It felt so weird, but good. My heartbeat slowed as I fadded into sleep, thinking of my guardian.


	10. Chapter 10

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 10 Meetings**

I woke-up later that same day, thinking back. _Was that all a dream? _I looked out to see that, despite the chairs having been put back to their original places, there was still a few bumps and scratches on the balcony, and I was still dressed in my day clothes. I reached a hand up to my lips. _That was real._ My heart was racing. I had gotten my first kiss. And it came from one of the most amazing guys I had ever met... I grabbed one of my cats and spun around the room with him. His ears were flat against his head and his eyes wide. If he could speak, he'd probably be asking me if I was out of my mind.

I put him back down on my bed when I heard a ringtone from my computer. Angie was calling me. I answered the Skype call, obviously letting out a lot more cheerfulness than I had originally meant to. "Hi there!" She seemed to actually back away from the screen, her eyes wide. I guess I frightened her. "Sarah? Are you ok? You seem, uh...happy. Too happy." I bit my lip nervously, unsure of what to tell her. I felt my cheeks go hot and my lips tingled, a memory of it all. Looking back up with pleading eyes, I saw that she seemed to be processing things in her mind.

"It's Tom, right?" I felt my cheeks grow even hoter and smiled brightly. I began retelling her all that happened, the situation with his parents forcing him to be with Jessie, the way she entered my dreams to make them nightmares, how he had helped me and I got up to the point where I went to join him in the forest. She interupted my tale abruptly. "He kissed you, didn't he?" I blushed again, biting my lip to the point of making it bleed. _How did she know?_ Her eyes brightened up instantly and she looked like she was about to start running all over the place. "Oh my God! This is amazing! I knew you two were made for each other!" I smiled widely, my eyes shut. I didn't even know what to say.

I then heard it again. That slightest static on the line. I gained a devious smirk. "Oh I don't know... His eyebrows are pretty bushy..." Just then, from out my window, I heard an indignified squeel and saw him drop down from that beam over the balcony. "HEY!" He rested his elbows against my window and looked with a slightly irritated grin when he understood that I managed to get him to come down. "Hi there. Angie, this is Tom. Tom, Angie." I looked to my screen to see that she was looking from me to him wide-eyed, obviously bewildered. "Is it normal for a guy to just fall from the sky out your window?" We both chuckled slightly. He then resumed acting ofended. "Hey, I'm a slender! It's in my nature to stalk people. Quit being so racist!"

Me and Angie errupted into laughter. He just crossed his arms. "Oh, so now you're going to mock me? That's wonderful. Yeah! You guys hurt my feelings!" He then began to fake whining. All three of us were laughing. I then accidentally slipped off my chair and was crashing to the ground, but I was stopped just inches away when two tendrills wrapped around my waist. "Are you ok?" I blinked and looked back to him. The sunlight behind him, he trully was my guardian angel. "Yeah, I'm fine." Angie looked wide-eyed again. Tom climbed into my window and helped me back up. I looked up to him in wonder."I didn't know you could use your tendrills in human form." He started to rub his arms nervously, glancing at the computer screen to see Angie's reaction. "I can only use four, and I have less control.

Angie then returned to reality. "If I didn't believe it before, I sure do now." Her voice was nearly a whisper, green eyes still pretty wide. I sat back down on my chair. "Hey by the way, aren't you doing something with Johnny today?" She blushed a bit and nodded. "Yeah. We're going to the zoo. You guys could come too if you want." I smiled widely. I loved the zoo. I didn't want to bother them, but she invited me. My thoughts were interupted when Tom's striped scarf fell in front of my face. I looked up to see him standing behind me, his hands rested on the back of my chair. He was looking down at me with those perfect blue eyes. Words didn't need to be spoken, we were going to the zoo today. I looked back to the screen and saw that Angie had a malicious grin. We both blushed and looked away, to which she started laughing. "Yep, you guys are made for each other."

I cast a side glance at the mirror, and I saw he had a faint smile. _He approves of this. And so do I_. That sense of approval radiated from him again. As I continued to speak to Angie, Tom was playing with the cats. They were both purring pretty loudly and took a liking to him instantly. It's understandable, he was so kind. One of the two kitties caught sight of one of his tendrills, trying his best to catch it. Tom grinned, chuckling slightly. He did get a little worried though when one of the cats bit into the blue and grey yarn of his scarf. "Hey hey hey! Not that!"

We stopped the call after a while and Tom slenderwalked away. My cats actually looked dissapointed when he left. He trully had a talent with animals. An other reason why I liked him.

**AN: Ok, I felt inspired last night so I wrote up 5 chapters in about and hour. They were full of mistakes so I re-read all of them, correcting any mistake I could find. So if some part was confusing you because of a missing word or poor grammar usage, maybe it's fixed now. I don't really know...So ya. I don't own Slenderman or Skype. I don't own a zoo either, but that would be a really fun thing to have.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 11 Friends, as in Plural**

I walked out of my room to find my mother, sitting at the kitchen table, with a cigarette in one hand and her mug of coffee in the other. "Hey mom, can I go to the zoo with Angie today? They offered to come and get me." She looked up to me with an exasperated look, as if I were a simple fly who was bugging her and that she couldn't wait to swat away. The fly I had observed that one day in school came back to mind and I smiled slightly. "Whatever." That was her only reply and she returned to her morning routine. She wasn't really a bad person, unless you tried to talk to her too early.

I met up with Tom at the corner of my street, where we had aranged for Angie's parents to pick us up, only he wasn't alone. He had brought that nerdy looking guy. "Hey Sarah, this is Dill. He's my best friend." "Oh, so that's your name!" I felt slightly embarassed that I still didn't know the names of so many people, but it's like my mind had been shut away from this reality. For a while, I felt as though I could never find anything good here, so my mind wouldn't bother with it. But now that I knew Tom, I felt like I had become more open to my surroundings, I had been seeing good in places I would have once entirely overlooked. He opened my eyes to the world. I'd still be sitting alone in a corner, not speaking to anybody if it weren't for him.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Dill. "So I understand you two are together now?" My eyes widened and I blushed slightly. I nodded reluctantly. Not that I didn't want to be with him, just that I wasn't used to this and was still unsure of what it was I was even doing. "Ha! It's about time you got rid of that freaky chick Jessie! She gave me the creeps! It's like you'd sit next to her, and you'd slowly start to feel like someone was about to jump out and stab you. On the other hand, Sarah. You are obviously a much better fit for him in my mind." I felt myself blushing more, looking downwards as I thanked him quietly. The rather large car pulled up and we all got in.

We hadn't exactly expected Dill to be there, so he sat in front while I sat by the window, Tom next to me and Johnny held Angie in his lap. Angie's dad raised a brow in concern seeing his daughter so close to a guy. Most of the car ride was all introductions. Dill scratched his short and neat black hair, looking around at all the passing signs. He turned to occasionally give glances at Tom and I, Tom seemed a bit irritated with the teasing. I spent most of my time gazing out the window, secretly listening to all that was being said between Angie and Johnny. Part of me longed for the proximity of someone like that, wanted to be held gently. Just as I gave those thoughts, Tom held my hand and smiled at me gently. I leaned onto him and closed my eyes.

We arrived at the zoo and all got out. It had been so long since I had gone on a trip with friends like this, or any trip for that matter! _Friends... Friend__s__! Multiple friends._ I was no longer that lonely kid with only one friend, I had friends, I had found love. We found, to our dissapointment, that most of the animals were fast asleep. One of the lions was paceing around the cage though, she looked upset. I felt somewhat bad for her, being kept in such a small space and obviously set asside from the others. "She was the runt. The others dissowned her, and now she is all alone. Nowhere to go, no escape from the others." I turned to see Tom, who looked somewhat emotional. "How do you know that?" "I have a closer mental connection to animals than humans." I nodded. _My nature's spirit..._

But our mood was quickly brightened by a very unusual message at the intercoms. "We would like to inform all visitors that one of the goats has escaped from the petting zoo. If anyone sees a small orange colored goat running around, please inform members of the zoo staff." We all looked at each other, silently giving ourselves the mission to find the runaway creature.

As we continued, I decided to stop by an icecream stand. "You guys keep walking, I'll catch up!" As I waited in line, some inconsiderate chick just decided to pass in front of me. She had long straight dark hair, which was obviously not it's natural color, and a black mini-dress. Her frame was so skinny, I felt as though I could make her fall over simply by poking her. "Excuse me, but I do believe I was here first." She turned around to face me, her amber eyes giving me a death glare that actually sent a chill down my spine. Silently, not saying a thing, even her high-heels made no sound as she turned, she just left. Staring at me the whole time. I gulped slightly, deciding to ignore this for now. It was my turn now anyway. I rejoined the group over by the bears, in a shaded area surrounded by pine trees. They stretched tall into the air, their branches only extending to show needles near the top. It reminded me of the Slender games. I smiled at Tom, who once again looked somewhat like a piece of art when nature formed a background to him. He reached a hand out to brush a strand of hair out of my face.

All eyes were now on us, but the romantic moment was interrupted before it even started by a sound. "BAAAH!" We all turned to see a goat, with orangish brown fur, chewing on the leaves of a nearby bush. When it noticed that it had been spotted, it dashed off into the undergrowth. In a single look that spoke as well as words could, we took off after it. That goat was fast. Tom and I ran faster than the others, more at home in a forested landscape. As soon as we were out of sight from anyone on the path as well as Dill and Johnny, Tom extended his tendrills and ensnared the animal, he quickly managed to calm it though. Retracting his tendrills into his back, me and Angie rushed over and got it by the time the other guys caught up. "Wow you guys are good!" Dill said while he was trying to catch his breath. He wiped the sweat off his glasses.

After returning the missing goat to the petting zoo and a fun day of activities, we once again came across a nice bit of scenery. It was close to a pond, again surrounded by the tall pines. The setting sun cast rays of colors in all directions. I looked to my right to see Angie and Johnny had embraced, holding each other tightly in their arms, kissing gently. I felt a hand in my shoulder and looked up to see Tom, who also bent down and kissed me. I closed my eyes, fully enjoying the moment. When we finally broke the kiss, I took time to notice that all eyes were once again on us. I was about to lower my head in shyness, but Tom's fingers pulled my chin up again. "Don't. You look cute when you blush." I bit my lip, failing to keep back a chuckle.

That's when poor forever alone Dill spoke. "Hey dude, you ok? You look as white as a sheet." Tom's eyes briefly widened and he looked down to his hands, who were indeed white. "Uh...yeah I'm fine. It's nothing." His skin slowly returned to a normal human color. I saw a small hint of sorrow in his eyes. Keeping a secret from his best friend. _I don't think it'll be kept for long. _Just as I thought that, a low and menacing hiss sounded behind us.


	12. Chapter 12

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 12 Slender Showdown**

We all turned in shock to see that girl I saw back at the icecream stand. Realization hit me like a brick wall. Dill backed up and seemed to hide behind his friend, Angie and Johnny clung together and Tom simply stood tall. "Jessie..." He said her name, his word like venom. She put on a fake smile. "Hi darling! So you ditched me for a stupid human? And a bunch of stupid human friends?" Dill and Johnny looked both horribly confused and scared.

She chuckled, low and dark as her eyes shut, being sealed. Her flesh turned pure white and her long hair seemed to melt away. She grew taller, finally extending 8 dark and thick tendrills, which reached down to the ground and moved about menacingly. All of us humans were frozen in place. The one slender on our side stood his ground, obviously looking unamused. She curled up her lip, showing off one of her fangs and hissing again. "Why don't we settle this in the woods back here?" She didn't give any of us time to answer, she backed away into the woods, her tendrills extending out in the darkness. Tom was once again white, this time with rage.

I walked next to him and put my hand on his shoulder, the others coming closer too. They were scared, worried but also curious. This was all she needed, we had inadvertently walked right into her trap. Her tendrills extended from the woods again, grabbing all four humans and dragging us back with her. She dropped my friends harshly on the ground, still holding me down. I felt a slight buzz in my ears, but I was able to focus and clear it up. I looked up right where her eyes would be. If I went down, it wouldn't be as a coward. I snarled at her. I knew I had no fangs, no power, I was nothing threatning, but I wouldn't let myself be intimidated. She chuckled again, flinging me towards my friends. I hit the ground hard, but still sat up and back away until I was next to them. Just then, Tom arrived, standing between us and her. He extended his four tendrills and glared at the raging young woman.

Dill's eyes grew even wider. "T-Tom? What's going on." Tom got a pained look on his face, finally realizing what his action implied. He looked back at him and simply said, almost whispered: "I'm sorry..." He then fully changed to his other form, releasing his other four tendrills. Angie and Johnny were in each other's arms, pale and shaking. Dill was slowly starting to get over the shock. "They're like the Slenderman. My best friend is like the Slenderman!" He wiped his glasses again. At that moment, the two slenders clashed. Tom was obviously stronger than her, but I could tell he didn't actually want to hurt her. "Jessie, please. Why won't you just listen to reason?" "Me?! Why won't YOU listen to reason? Aren't I perfect? Why would you ever want a human more than me?" She lashed out with her fingernails, scratching him across his pale arms.

"Because I love her...and she is perfect for me." We all gasped slightly, my jaw still hanging open as they continued their little showdown. They swung tendrills like whips at each other. She tried to punch him, but he caught her arms and twisted them back. All tendrills against all tendrills, Tom pushed her backwards. She threw a little fit of rage, before falling to her knees. She was...crying? Looking up to him, she spoke, this time actually being gentle. "I loved you. I really did. I understand. I don't understand why you'd chose a human, but I knew it wasn't me that was right for you." Tom's features also got softer. He offered a hand to help her up. "I'm sorry." Jessie gave me a glare. I, again, don't know how I knew that concidering she had no eyes. "I still don't like you, but be a girl worthy of a guy like him." With that, she slenderwalked away. I stood up, my legs shacky. "What the heck just happened?!" "That's what I'd like to know." The snarky remark came from Johnny, who had regained his senses and was helping his girlfriend up. Dill looked hurt. "You never told me about this?" Tom looked down, silent.

After a bit of explaining on the whole "Tom is a slender" situation, I finally asked him how he had managed to get Jessie to just...stop like that. He smiled. "It was kind of simple for a slender to do. I sensed it in her aura. She was broken hearted. She just needed to let her rage go. She's never going to forgive either of us, I'm sorry about that by the way, but I think she won't bother us anymore. And if she ever does, I WILL hurt her." He showed determination on his featureless face. I smiled and nodded. He was a gentle person. Noble and kind. When he stood in front of us, I saw it in him, he felt no rage, no hatred. That's an other thing I liked about him. That's when I remembered what he had said. _Because I love her... _"You love me?" He opened his mouth, as if to reply, but slowly shut it and looked down. I ran over to him and hugged him, laying my head on his chest. He wrapped his arm and a few tendrills around my waist. I didn't see their faces, but I knew all the others probably had an expression that would say "D'AAAAAAAAW" Although they were probably also freaked out because a friend just grew two extre feet in height, lost his face and had tentacles sprouting from his back...

Dill had to cut the moment short by suddently catching on to a slight detail. "Is that why you get white when you get mad, or when you guys kissed? Because you're a slender?" If he had eyes at the moment, I'm sure he would have blinked in confusion. "Uh..I guess? Adrenaline kind of makes it harder for me to maintain my human form." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He gently kissed my forehead and let me go. Retracting his tendrills and slowly changing back to a human appearence. "We should go before anyone notices us." With that, we all left the small grove and went back to the main part of the zoo. As we left, since it was the time Angie's dad said he'd come back for us, I felt like I was being watched. I could have imagined it, but I could have sworn I saw a girl with dark hair and a black mini dress looking down to us from the monorail that went around the park.

**AN: I don't own Slenderman, Slender games, Yadayadayada blablabla I don't own a zoo, or monorails, or pringles chips, or a potato farm. I do own two cats, a roll of tape and a permanant marker. Nobody ever reads this. If you do read this, I will simply say: I do not copyright my idea of shape-shifting slender people. If you want to use this same time of slender for your own personal stories, feel free to do so! Actually, message me the link to those stories! I'd love to read them. Anyway. Blablabla GOATS Bye.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 13 Gamerman**

I woke-up the next morning, relieved to conclude I no longer had nightmares. I didn't remember any dream at all, in fact. I did my usual morning routine, then went to my computer. Nothing new on DeviantART, nobody posted any good Youtube videos and the authors of my favorite fanfictions still hadn't updated their stories. I then spotted my Nintendo DS out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't played good video games in ages. I went to it and switched it on, pleased to see the cartridge curently inserted was Pokémon Heart Gold. I was hit by waves of nostalgia.

After about an hour of gameplay, I felt static go through me. That comforting feeling. I was in the middle of a battle unfortunetly, and I wanted to finish before I would switch off my game and go talk to him. The edges of my screen fuzzed with static briefly and I knew he was picking up on what I was doing. To my surprise, The entire enemy team was now badly poisoned, and all my attacks were landing critical hits. I smirked. When it was done, I saved my game and went to the window.

Looking up to the figure sitting on the beam overhead, I spoke. "So is this how you beat your games?" He looked down towards me. "Not when I play, I just wanted to see you faster." He came down and joined me in my room. I thanked the fact that my mother usually woke-up much later and slept like a log. Also her room being in the basement, she wasn't as likely to hear that there was a guy inside the house. He picked up my DS, looking at my team. "Interesting. Most people pick Pokémon based only on stats and how strong they are. You clearly don't." I wasn't sure if I should be offended or pleased by that. His eyes then went wide. "You have a shiny Golbat?" "Actually, I have 3 shinies. Without counting Gyarados. I never use the other two. You could have one if you want."

He looked back to me, eyes bright. "Seriously? Do you know that it's a one in..." "One in 8192 chance of finding one. Yes. But I feel you'd make a better use of it." Finally, upon digging in his pockets to find a game of his own, he ended up claiming my shiny Numel. The first one of the three I had caught...I had attached a letter to it. It said "I REALLY LIKE YOU" When I got the Pokémon he sent me, I was surprised to see that it was also carrying mail. He smirked to me. I checked it, and to my great surprise, I found the following message. "I LIKE YOU TOO" "How did you know?" He chuckled a bit. _God I wish I could hear his true laughter again. It's the most amazing sound in the world. _"Great minds think alike." We were looking through the games I had, and that's when I noticed it. In a moment where he thought I wasn't looking, he had a concerned look to him. His eyes also seemed sorrowful.

We played a bit more, going through six different games in total. Then I decided to bring it up. "Are you ok? You look worried." He bit his lip and his gaze grew distant. "My parents found out I left Jessie, for a human. They're not exactly pleased." I held his arm. "Are they going to come after me like she did?" He shook his head, his eyes now actually looked watery. I scooted over closer to him. "You remember how I told you my parents were pure blood slenders? And how some slenders are gifted with aditional abilities." I nodded. "Well usually, pure bloods always end-up gifted. I didn't. I have absolutly no special talent, slenderwise. I am good with technology and learned how to control some aspects of it, but again. I have no special powers. I think they were ashamed of me for that. I'm too weird for humans, and too "normal" for slenders. And now I want a human...who has no powers at all."

I was speechless. He always seemed so amazing to me. I trully liked everything about him. I found all the skills he had, his powers, the way he thought to be incredible. I realized that all the amazing talents he has that would obviously get the attention of a human might not do the same for slenders. I leaned onto his side. "I think you're amazing." He smiled at me, looking at me with those perfect blue eyes. It felt like they captured my soul, reading me like an open book. "You're really good at video games! That's worth something, right?" He laughed. For real. I felt shivers go down my spine. "Well, I guess you can call me Gamerman. I am the source of all lag in the univers! Fear me!" We were both laughing now. He looked at the time. 11:43. "I should get going now. They didn't look too upset, I just... I just panicked when I found out they knew." We both stood up. I knew he needed to be in his slender form to slenderwalk. Kissing him made him return to it... I looked into his eyes. I think he got the idea.

He lifted my chin up and kissed me. I closed my eyes, and I almost squeeled in shock when I felt his tongue push into my mouth. Yet I still kept my eyes closed. I could feel it under my hand, which was placed on his arm that all those little arm hairs were fadding away. I felt under my own tongue his teeth getting sharper. I felt him move as he had to readjust his position to keep the kiss with his change of height. I then felt some of his tendrills gently wrap around my waist. When we broke the kiss, I looked up intently where his eyes had been just a few seconds ago. His hand gently stroked my hair as his tendrills returned to his back. Then, he was gone. Like smoke in the wind.

**AN: I do not own DeviantART, or Youtube, or Nintendo DS, or Pokémon. I do own these characters, but I don't mind sharing :3 Wow I sat on my foot and now the fabric from my chair left this print on my flesh that looks like some kind of weird skin condition... Sorry if most of you had no idea what I was talking about in this chapter, I'm just a huge Pokémon fan and I actually came up with the name Gamerman before I decided to name him Tom. Yay, French kiss :3 I don't know how I can be even this descriptive, I never kissed in my life :x Or been in a relationship... WELL I HAVE DREAMS :D And I'll see you next time! (mrehehehee I'm hiding in your closet) Congratulations if you read this. I like goats. Oh God, just from my typing pattern and character names, if anyone I know reads this, they'll know right away who I am...and they'll know about my weird fantassies :x YA SEEN NOTHIN' YA HEAR? NOTHIN'! No, my name is not Sarah. BYE!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 14 Awkward**

I went to my computer, finding that Angie and Johnny had invited me to a group conversation. "Hey guys. What's up?" Johnny yawned. "It's not even noon yet. How could anything be up?" I grinned. Angie seemed to notice it because she raised a brow in suspicion. "Anything new for you?" I kept my grin, but I knew I probably blushed. God, I never blushed before. Curse you, Tom. I didn't know how to tell them. I'd get them to guess. "So, have you two ever french kissed?" They looked at me wide-eyed. Angie started stuttering. "Uh...w-what? That's k-kind of gross. Why would we ever do that?" Johnny pouted. "Aw come on, does that mean you won't try it with me?" Angie giggled a bit. "Nope! Only in your dreams!"

Then, they both stopped. I could practically see those little gears turning in their minds. "Oh my God..." That was all Johnny whispered. Angie seemed to struggle for words at first. "D-did you?!" I bit the inside of my cheek and screwed my eyes shut, but I somehow managed to nod, smiling dumbly. Johnny hit his fist to the table. "Dammit! He's so lucky being a slender, he can just magically teleport to you any time." he then put on a little pout and crossed his arms like a toddler who wanted a cookie before a meal. Both me and Angie were laughing at his expression.

I then heard Angie's mom shout from downstairs. "You guys are on the news!" I flinched. _What does that mean?! _She walked upstairs with a newspaper. We all simultaniously released our breath when she read. "TEENS HELP CATCH RUNAWAY GOAT" Angie took the newspaper from her mother's hands. Angie looked a lot like her mom. They both had that same shoulder-lenght curled dark brown hair. As soon as that thought popped in my mind, I realized that my best friend and...uhm...boyfriend had the exact same hair color and texture. _Boyfriend. _The thought gave me goosebumps. It was so new to me..

"Uh oh, listen to this guys." We turned our attention back to Angie. "Local nutjobs report seeing Slenderman fight in the zoo." I bit my lip in concern at first, but I thought of the word "nutjobs". "A duo of local teens, named Eric (age 16) and Allan (age 17), were enjoying their trip to the zoo yesterday when they claim they witnessed a fight between two Slenderman like beings in the woods. One went even as far as to say there was a group of teens kidnapped by the monsters. They say they ran away before they could see the outcome of the fight, but they saw enough to know what they saw. The lack of details and evidence doesn't make this story very convincing. Psychologists are curently evaluating the boys, but can't seem to find anything wrong with them. "Just an other annoying prank by bored kids" is what one of them says." Well, it seems we're safe, for now. Unfortunately, Johnny then decided it was time to play the blame game. "You should learn to control that boyfriend of your's! He shouldn't be such an idiot. And I don't want me, or Angie, to get in trouble because of something he did."

I felt my blood boil at the word "idiot", but I remained calm. He was anything but an idiot. I snapped at him dryly. "In his defense, Jessie attacked first." Angie remained quiet, looking a bit worried. About an hour into the call, I felt a slight static feeling and the button to exit the conversation became slightly pixelated. "Uh guys, I think I have to go." I gave a slight look that I'm guessing Angie understood. She smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I switched off everything and went to my window. Tom was indeed standing there. "Hey Sarah, this might be a bit awkward, but..." He was interrupted as the wind blew his scarf into his face. I burst into laughter and he swatted it away, looking annoyed at first but gaining a goofy grin when he saw me. His grin fadded pretty fast though and he resumed speaking. "My parents, kinda...want to meet you."

_What?_ I now had a more serious look. This could be bad. They could hate me. Maybe they already did. "Should I be worried?" He shook his head. "No. They don't look mad. They just want to see what kind of person you're like." I faintly smiled and took his hand. "Well, what are we waiting for then?" He smiled boldly and slenderwalked us over to a place I had never been in. It was obviously a living room. The walls were brightly colored, three of them flashy orange and the fourth navy blue. It had a wooden floor and a colorful couch. There was a tv with a good number of game consoles connected to it and a whole shelf entirelly dedicated to a phenomenal number of video games. "Welcome to my home." I looked around. He slowly shrank back down to his human form.

Two people came into the room, eyeing me intently. The first one, a woman, had curled blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She was somewhat tall and had a blue dress on. The man had well combed brown hair and chocolate eyes. His skin was tan. "I am assuming you are Sarah." The man spoke. I nodded. He held out his hand for me to shake it. "I'm Charles and this is my wife, Martha. And if you somehow can't tell, we're Tom's parents." I smiled. He was much nicer than I had expected him to be. This still felt awkward and Tom was very tense. I then felt something, like a presence at the edge of my mind. It was static, but it felt different from Tom's. It held the same depth his had, although less focused on nature and electronics...It was also more feminine. I looked up into Martha's eyes. They suddently widened and she took a step back.

"Incredible. She not only can withstand perfectly a contact with my mind, but she can also pinpoint it's origin." Tom quickly looked at me, seemingly shocked. I had absolutly no idea what was going on. Seeing my confusion, Tom began explaining. "When we establish a mental link to a person, like when I send you those calming waves but stronger, more often than not, people suffer horrible migraines and some even collapse under the pressure of our minds." He glared at his mother slightly as he said this. I shuddered at the thought of what might have happened to me.

"That's because me and my mom would be, I guess geniuses. Our conciousness is vaster than that of the average person. Human or slender. But as soon as I saw you, I knew your mind could take it. It's as vast as mine." I took this in. I'm a genius? This started to feel even more awkward. Charles aproached me again. "Well, I think we've seen enough to know that you're very decent, even for a human." Tom seemed a bit indignified at this. "Wait, you mean to tell me you just made me bring her here so you could see if she has a seizure when you try to touch her mind? Jessie couldn't take it, and you forced me to be with her!" The parents actually looked down in shame. Martha was the one of the two to speak, though it seemed like they were communicating despite their otherwise silence between each other. "Well, honey, Jessie was a slender. You know how hard it is to come across our own kind in the city. And the reason I wanted to test her was because I wanted to see if she had a mind worthy of your's." At this moment, his eyes seemed to shine. Charles raised his hand up and cheerfully said: "Now then, why don't you bring this fine lady back home before she's missed!" I think I just got accepted... We looked at each other, smiling brightly. He returned to slender form.

He slenderwalked us back to my balcony, and I could see a new light in him. "I thought they were ashamed of me..." I looked up to him. "I wouldn't understand how if anyone was." This was an awkward start to my day, but it was a lot more entertaining than planned.


	15. Chapter 15

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 15 Changes at School/Fourth wall Breaking**

The whole bus ride to school was a moment of pure anxiety. Nobody knew we were..._together. _I thought back to all those kids who'd told us we were made for each other. I also thought of all the people who set us asside for thinking differently. They'd either find it cute that we're finally together, or make fun of both of us in extreme ways...I got off at the stop and walked in, got to my locker, grabbed my things and got to my first class, the whole time thinking. _What do we do?_

That's when a girl with curled blonde hair and shiny blue eyes seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of me. "Heeeeey! I saw you in the newspaper, with _Tom._ So are you two, y'know, finally together?" She gave me a look. Ok, maybe she was right, but she didn't know that for sure. She had no right to judge. "I don't know if you noticed, but there was three other people there too. Two of which were guys." She kept looking at me. I finally gave in. I sighed and spoke in a harsh whisper. "Ok! Fine! Yes." She squeeled in a way that made my ears ring and got every other student in the room turned towards us. She grabbed onto my shoulders and began shaking me somewhat violently. "I KNEW IT!" She then left and returned to her place as though nothing happened. Everyone kept their eyes on me for a few moments, turned to her and then slowly went back to whatever they were doing before.

I was actually thankful he wasn't in this class, but I knew he was in my next one. The whole school would eventually know, that much was for sure, but the question was when? I knew that dumb blonde chick, crazy as she is, would keep it to herself. Well her and her boyfriend, who stuck to her like glue. I didn't know either of their names though. At some point, half way through the class, I felt Tom's static contact. It wasn't exactly comforting like the other times, but more so annoyed. It felt as though he was _seeking _comfort for once. I guessed he may have had issues with nosey kids himself. I wasn't sure if he could get it back, but I thought calming things. The feeling at the edge of my mind eventually fadded away. I smiled faintly.

This was better than any text messaging. We met up in the hallway after class, both having the same question on our mind. "Now what?" Thankfully, it was art. And the teacher had no control whatsoever on the class so we could just talk the whole time. Unfortunately, little miss nosey and her satellite were here too. They sat far away, eyeing us the whole time. Dill was also in this class, I now noticed. He was also giving his buddy looks from time to time. It wasn't that long until something happened. Of course, this is a fanfic. Stuff happens all the time, or else it gets boring.

Some bum looking guy walked over to us, his pants as low as his iQ. He looked down to Tom with disgust. I felt a tendrill find it's way to my hand under the table. I knew things might get bad. He turned to Tom. "So, I heard some people say you're gay." We both looked bewildered. I was the first to speak. "What?" He gave a smug grin and continued. "Well, of course he is! Look at him! With his little scarf flowing in the wind like captain fabulous!" I looked worried when I saw him get slightly pale. I understood him though, I myself was consumed by rage. He knew he got a reaction out of us and he liked it, so he went on. "If you weren't gay, wouldn't you have gone with little freak chick here? You two are like the last two members of some rare species of pests!" That was it.

I was about to strike the guy and tell him to get out, but I was pulled back and I felt Tom's lips press against mine. Forgetting my rage, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling. When we broke appart, Tom looked away, still glaring at the bum from the corner of his eye which was partly hidden by his hair. The guy looked shocked at first, but he silently backed away, not saying anything. Tom's skin color returned to normal and I felt his tendrill retract. It was then that I looked up through strands of my hair to see that the whole class was watching. I turned over to him and whispered. "You do realize that we played right into his trap?" Tom looked down at me, a blush very visible on his cheeks. "It was bound to happen." We were then shocked when we heard a round of applause. A girl I had never noticed before in my life sat in front of me, a huge smile on her face. "Oh my gosh! From the moment I saw you two I've been waiting for you guys to get together."

Wow...I hadn't assumed that this many people cared about that. The attention never completly fadded. The whole time, we kept getting looks from people. It felt awkward just sitting there. That bum guy looked pretty upset. His plan had downright backfired, from wanting to humiliate us to making us the center of attention. "Hey Tom, did you expect this much people to react like this?" He shrugged. "Well, I kind of expected none, but since we're the main pairing of this fic, it was to be expected." I chuckled at his comment.

Tom's other friends swarmed us the rest of the day. None of them had a clue about what was going on. We couldn't find a moment of peace and I felt a few times as though Tom just wanted to slenderwalk us to the woods. I looked up to him in one of the later classes where we also sat together. "What now?" He extended to me his comforting static. "Well, I'm not sure. The author is out of good ideas tonight." I felt a little annoyed by now. "Can we please stop breaking the fourth wall?" He chuckled and raised his hands up. "I can't help it, the author wants me to!" At the end of this long and annoying day, we walked over to our usual spot in the woods.

We actually talked on the way there, unlike the other times where we were just silent. _We talked, which is unlike silence. Yes, Martha. I am such a genius. _Right before we got to the main part of the woods, I paused. The scenery was amazing today. It was fall and all the leaves had turned a bright orange and brown, a few of them starting to drop from the trees. The sunlight shone through Tom's hair and the wind blew his scarf back, giving him the look of some hero on a movie poster. He looked to me, and the scenery was improved so much just by his amazing eyes. He then made it perfect by walking over to me and wrapping his arms around me, resting his head on top of mine. I embraced the moment. "Hey Tom, will you promise me something?" "What?" "Please stop breaking the fourth wall." He laughed, improving perfection it's self.

That's when we saw it. Both at the same time. The sign that had been put up since the last time we came here. "SUNSHINE MART COMPANY NOW ANOUNCING THIS AS FUTURE SITE OF OUR LATEST CENTER"

**AN:DUN DUN DUN! I now found out that people actually do read these notes at times. Well then...you have proven me wrong, humans. Anyway, ya. I hate sensless desruction of the environment, so a lot of the stories I will write might end-up revolving around this. And please forgive the fourth wall breaking, I'm tired and stressed because, well, the people have voted and I'm supposed to tell the only guy I ever liked that I liked him since he's moving away, but he has a girlfriend now so it's just really really awkward and I have no idea what to do. Thank you all for reading, this is my first fanfiction and I'm not sure what I'm doing 70% of the time!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 16 Nature's Spirit. (No typo)**

We stood there, in silence, unsure of what to say, think or do. I took a step forward. "How can they do this? This is the only wooded area left for miles!" All of the innocent lives that could live in there, all those amazing natural sites, all the great moments people had had and will have because of this one little woodland. Why would anyone want to tear it down? I jumped back in shock when Tom extended one of his tendrills and slashed the operator symbol into the paper of the sign. "They can't do this." He snarled, showing his teeth. Even when he was human, they had an uncommon sharpness to them that made him appear somewhat frightening when he was angry. His four tendrills and scarf were blown back by the wind, locks of his brown hair dancing about wildly.

He resumed his walk into the forest, me following closely. He started to speak again, sounding agitated and upset. "When people created the Slenderman myth, they weren't too far from the truth when they depicted him living in the forest. Our kind are very closely connected to nature, more than any ordinary human could ever be. A lot of native tribes were in fact slenders and did indeed live in the woods. We're linked to the trees as if they were part of ourselves. Some think our kind may have been created simply to protect these places. When I met you here, with all the good memories I built in this place, I started to feel even more connected to it. If this place suffers, I know I will too." I paused and placed my hand on the trunk of a large tree. He was my nature's spirit... He was the resident slender, and the protector of these woods. We couldn't let this happen.

Sadly, this was not the real Slenderman...That's when I had an idea. A great idea. An idea so crazy, it would probably work. "Why don't we handle this situation like any Scooby Doo villain would?" He looked at me, slightly confused, but then a lightbulb went off in his head. "I see where you're going with this." All we needed was to get a fancy suit and we could have Slenderman attacks that could scare away all the workers. We both looked at each other with devious smiles.

But for now, we just walked around the forest, this time going deeper into it. There was so much more to this place than I initially thought. Streams, awesome rock formations, caves and so much wildlife. We both stopped when we saw a little rabbit dash across the narrow path in front of us. The animal paused briefly, looking us over and then left again. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same one from the beginning of our little love story. I then saw a sturdy tree with thick branches. The envy to climb it filled me.

Tom must have caught on, because he was now in slender form, all tendrills out and looked at the tall thing with a determined look. "Race you to that big branch there." We both ran and began to scale the branches. I noticed he was much faster at getting up, helped by his size and his tendrills. "Hey! No fair! I only have two arms here!" He paused briefly before replying. "Well, so do I." He raised both of his hands up and waved them in the air to show, suspended to the surrounding branches by his tendrills. I gave him a mock death glare when I looked at his innocent smile. When he arrived at the destination, first of course, I was just a few feet below. I felt a few tendrills wrap around me and he hoisted me up by his side. We both sat there, holding on to each other, several feet above the world with a view of everything in these woods.

I saw a herd of deer in the distance. I never thought deer could survive out here, in this polluted wasteland. The air was so serene. A few leaves drifted in the wind, twirling as if they were participating in some kind of dance. The light shone beautifully through the clouds. I leaned back into his chest and the words left my lips on their own. "I love you." He gently kissed the top of my head. "I love you too." He trully did open my eyes to this world. I was always able to see the beauty in our natural land, but I had never taken the time to appreciate it with the company of someone. I had shut my eyes to society my whole life, thinking I could never find any good in it. But now, here I was. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

"So, want to help me start scaring people next weekend?" I smiled, until I remembered one important detail. I was only at my mother's house one weekend a month. That was last weekend. "I...I can't. I'm going to be with my dad." He looked dissapointed. I knew he could only slenderwalk to places he had seen before. That left me confused as to how he had gotten to my house in the first place, but I decided against asking. And my parents still had no clue I was with anyone, so I wasn't too sure about having him over. I didn't normally hang-out with anyone, let alone a guy. His "face" then brightened up as though he had an idea. "Hey, can I get your Skype username?" I knew what he was thinking. "You want to try to slenderwalk there based only on what you've seen through a Skype call?" He nodded, looking determined. "Nobody's ever done this before, not that I know of." I knew he had a strong connection to technology. Maybe he wouldn't admit he was gifted with his powers in any way, but I think he was.

After a few more minutes, I was slenderwalked back to my home. I'd never say it, but I felt sad everytime I'd see him just fade away, like smoke in the wind. I smiled faintly and climbed back into my window. Flopping down on my bed, I gazed up into the white blank ceiling, having it remind me of one of my lover's faces. My nature's spirit... The more I thought of it, the crazier it sounded...and I loved it!


	17. Chapter 17

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 17 Spend the Night**

The whole week went by in it's usual routine. I went to school, walked to the woods with Tom, saw the world, went home and spent the evening on my computer while Tom often sat outside on that beam. It was now Friday though, and my father arrived to pick me up a day early and bring me to his house, which was across town. "Daddy!" I ran into his arms. I guess I'm what you'd call Daddy's little girl. He was the one who raised me most of my childhood, and by that I mean: Play video games with me.

I inherited his goofy and cheerful attitude and his love of weird things. Especially a love of weird things... Getting to his house, I went down to my room, which was in the basement. I was thankful that my parents left me alone most of the time. There was low risks of them finding a faceless guy in the house. Tom's theory was that if he saw my room through the video call and focused hard enough, he'd be able to slenderwalk here even if he never had been here before. He was convinced his will held enough power so that only an image would be enough. This was something never done before though.

I took a deep breath and set up the call. It was weird talking with him through a screen, I had never done that before with anyone but Angie and Johnny. It was also unusual that I could see him and hear his voice, but not feel the static that normaly acompanied his presence."So you really think you can do this?" He nodded, looking determined. He shifted into his slender form and I briefly thought of all those rumors that the government is watching us through the Internet. They'd sure get a shock about a teen suddently losing his face. The thought made me smirk. I could see how concentrated he was, despite his lack of facial features. After about a minute, I thought we should maybe give up, but before I could get a word out, he fadded from sight. I then saw him appear right next to me.

We both looked at each other, bewildered, and I then ran to him and gave him a tight hug. "I knew you were gifted." He placed an arm around me. "If you call that gifted." His tone of voice was low and somewhat sarcastic, but his natural aura showed his pride, even if he didn't mean to. He let go and sat down on my reclinable couch-bed, looking around the place. "This room is much more decorated than the one at your mother's house." I did indeed move some of my more valuable things in here in fear that my mom could throw them away. She wasn't always the most considerate person... I then blushed when I noticed where his eyeless gaze was. A drawing I put up on the wall. It was of a girl, me, in the arms of Tom in slender form. He grinned and chuckled.

"We haven't been together too long, if I'm not mistaken, you didn't come here since." I looked down in shame. _I'm so obsessed. _From the start I wanted to be with him, and I'm not sure just how creepy I was at the moment. He didn't seem freaked out though, and instead kissed me gently. After a while, he slenderwalked back home and I went to eat supper. I was still distracted by it all. My dad kept talking over and over about how it was cool that I was in the newspaper with the whole goat insident. I just claimed nothing different was going on, that school was still boring and stuff, thankful he didn't ask any questions about who the other two guys in the picture were. He already knew who Johnny was... I went back to my room and spoke to Angie.

"You guys are seriously going to pass him off as the real Slenderman to scare away those dudes?" I smiled evilly and nodded. "Yup. All we need is a suit and a few people who'd be glad to play the witnesses." Angie's brightened up even more. "You can count us in for sure! I always wanted to pull off a massive prank Scooby Doo style." Everything was set. We had markers and pocket knives which could be used to write up the Operator symbol on trees. (I'd have to ask Tom permission for that and which ones can be used though, we wouldn't want to disturb this nature's spirit.) I was already working on recreating the notes from the 8 Pages game. Angie, Dill, Johnny and I could all claim to be witnesses, chased out of the forest by the creature. We could even take a picture. He also decided he'd be bold enough to show his lack of a face to a few innocent bystanders, just to make it all more real.

I switched my couch into a bed, turned off the lights and drifted off to sleep. I awoke when I felt a slight pressure at the edge of my bed. I looked up to see that Tom was there, in his slender form and in his pyjama pants. I blushed when I noticed he was also shirtless. I sat up and questioned his presence. "I feel lonelly with you so far away. I guess I need to sense you close by to get some rest." His tendrills wavered around, hard to see in the darkness. I nodded and laid back down. He tilted his head sideways and chuckled quietly. "What's so funny?" "Well, you sleep with a stuffed animal." I sat up again, looking down to my stuffed turtle. Yes, I'm 15 and I want to have a stuffed animal with me at night. Was that so wrong? "I-I have no answer to that." When my eyes adjusted fully to the darkness, I felt them widen in surprise and I blushed even more.

_Oh My God those muscles. _For a thin guy, he was very well built. It was like he had no fat at all! He smirked and reached his hand over to me, pushing a strand of my hair out of my face. I blushed even more, not sure how, but I did. I sat up and just sat there next to him, we were both in complete silence, looking on into the dark. My attention was drawn to his back, where his tendrills connected to it. It was so odd. They seemed shadowy and ghostly, like matter from an other physical plain. Yet, they fuzed into his flesh like normal solid skin. They got more opaque as they got closer to his back before finally being a pure black and the skin surrounding them was dark, gradually paling until it was the white of the rest of his flesh. I couldn't resist, I reach out and gently stroked his spine, stopping by one of his tendrills and dragging my finger across it.

He looked to me, letting out a sound that sounded like a cat's purring. We both drifted off to sleep, me holding my turtle in my arms and him holding me the same way. I silently thanked the fact that my father didn't burst into my room at random, unlike my mother. The night felt safe and I fell fast asleep almost instantly.


	18. Chapter 18

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 18 Let's Scare People**

I woke-up the next day, all alone in my room. Maybe it had been a dream last night. I didn't want it to all be a dream. It felt so good, so peaceful. Well whatever, it didn't really matter. It's not like I'd bring it up again. That would be kinda awkward... I got up and ate breakfast with my dad. "Hey, I was wondering if I could go to the mall with Angie and some other friends." He agreed and I went back to my room and got dressed. I switched on Skype and contacted the whole gang. "I'll be there at about 1 o'clock, is that ok?" That question was the one I had to repeat to everyone. We were going, not only to hang out, but we had to buy that suit so our plan could be complete.

Arriving there, I met up with Angie at the place we usually went, in front of a CD store. Johnny was there too. We found Dill and Tom looking around, taking in everything. Tom was especially attentive to the area, in case he ever needed to slenderwalk here. "I'm still not entirely sure what to think about you being a slender and all." Dill said while nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, I'll always be your best friend, don't get me wrong! It's just...just..." "Weird?" "Yeah." Poor guy. Already he looked kind of frail with his glasses and all, and he was afraid of so many things, including spiders and the dark. Must be a huge shock for him.

I thought back. Why hadn't it surprised me that much when I saw him for what he was? It just...fit him. Or maybe I just liked him before I found out and never realized it. He was just so amazing after all... Too good to be human, that's what he was. And he was with me...I started laughing when we aranged how we'd get the suit. It would be a little weird if 5 kids walked into a store and randomly bought the outfit, so Tom, looking the most mature out of us, would wear a fake mustache and pretend he was a man going to a funeral. We laughed even more when we found out it worked. We spent the rest of the time walking around. When we got in front of a furniture store which sold sculptures, Tom stood in front of the display. Stroking his superb stache gently.

"Mais oui! Zis piece of art is sensational! We see very well ze passion of ze artist! Zis clearly symbolizes ze sunshine! Oui oui, very good!" We were all trying to keep back our laughter, especially since he was pointing at a sculpture of a mouse holding a piece of cheese. Finally, we couldn't keep it in anymore when he walked away, back straight and tossed his scarf across his shoulder, eyes closed like some snoby art critic. What made it even funnier was that some old man and some blonde guy, maybe just a bit older than us, were looking at him and listening to everything he had to say, nodding in aproval. When all was done, we went outside and decided to walk over to a nearby park. There was a woodland here too. We found a little building and Tom decided to get into his suit. We walked over towards to forested area to see what it would look like when he changed forms. His already powerful presence was increased so much by the sophisticated black suit. He still had his scarf, of course. _God he looks nice in a suit. it's like he's getting married. _Wait, what?

I shook the thoughts out of my head and he transformed. There was one problem though, his arms and legs now seemed too long for the suit. The actual Slenderman had it fit his form perfectly. "Well, if someone thinks they're about to die, I doubt they'll take time to pay attention to a detail like that." True. We all joined our hands together, and, no rehearsal, no planning, simultaniously shouted. "LET'S SCARE PEOPLE!"

After we all went home, I stayed up for a while on my computer. Around 10 at night, as I was getting off, Tom slenderwalked in. He was dressed in his pyjama, like last night. I smiled up to him. _That wasn't a dream. _His muscles were more visible in the light. Nothing like a 6-pack, but still pretty dang hot. _Wow I never thought that way before. _He must have noticed my blush because he smirked mischiviously. "Got Mario Kart?" He pulled out a Nintendo DS. I raised a brow. "Sure."

So here I was, sitting down, resting my head against a faceless, shirtless guy as I played Mario Kart against him, and he was good. After 8 games, 4 wins for each of us, we decided to stop. "No tie-breaker, let's just leave it at evenly matched." I liked that idea. Smirking, I leaned back against his chest. He wrapped an arm around me. I yawned. _I'm so tired. But I like his company too much. _He must have been feeling my mind, because he offered to stay with me again. You expect me to say no to that? He flickered off the lights with one of his tendrills and held me in his arms, flopping backwards onto the bed. He held me tight against him and I felt that fire deep inside me again. "Good night, human." I smiled. "G'night, Slendy."

**AN: So many things I have to say I do not own...Has anyone ever seriously gotten copyright issues for a fanfic? Seriously? Like the creators of all these brands and things ever even read fanfictions! And I don't copyright my own characters! Ya. If you wanna use Sarah, or Tom or anything for your stories, have fun! Make 'em grow an extra arm! Make 'em have kids! Use them to wash your tables! Add flavour to your water! Takes care of though rust stains and is environmentally friendly! Get now, for a limited offer! Entirelly free! Offer only lasts until the univers ends. Act now.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 19 Some Moment in the Future of the Previous Chapter**

This was it. Dill had already began work on spreading a rumor at school that there was some strange looking man stalking around the woods near the school. Most people thought he was making it up, but others showed anxiety in their eyes afterwards. I heard rumors around the benches at lunch time. "I don't know about you guys, but that whole deal with the woods sounds an awfull lot like the Slenderman." I gave a devious smirk everytime I heard such things, but tried my best not to show it. The three of us were curently right at the edge of the woods, Tom in his Slenderman get-up. I had recreated the pages and planted them around and had been pointed which trees could be marked and how I should do it to not harm them. Now was the riskiest part: scaring a few innocent bystanders.

"I'm starting to have second thoughts on this." Tom's tendrills wavered about in worry. I walked over to him and stretched up, him bending down slightly to let me kiss his cheek. We all took deep breaths and resumed our search for a victim. That's when we saw him. That bum looking guy, which I found out is called David, that had called Tom gay. I felt the desire for revenge radiating from the tall being standing next to me, and I myself burned with the desire to see if we could get him to pee his pants. Me and Dill signaled to each other, and we both ran out of the woods, going as fast as we could. "HELP! THERE'S THAT THING AGAIN!" Dill managed to shout out despite being out of breath from his sprint. The bum looking guy just looked up to us, looking a little freaked out.

"What are you losers doing out here? Y'a seen a little mouse or something?" My eyes narrowed at his comment and I inwardly chuckled. If memory serves me right, he was the one terrified when one of the rodents passed by him a few weeks ago. Dill started to stutter, putting on a fear act better than I had ever expected. Maybe the anxiety of what we were doing helped too. "T-T-There w-was that thing again! The o-one I talked about in school! That scary man! He's in there... He was after us, bro! I'm telling you!" He grabbed the bum's shoulder, to which he looked disgusted and swated his hand away. "Step asside, losers." he slowly started to walk towards the woods.

Maybe he thought he was trying to do a good job at hiding it, but I could see the fear coming from him. He trembled slightly. That was when it was time. Just showing his tendrills in the distance, and snaping a branch with one, we managed to get the guy to leave the path. We were supposed to be scared out of our minds right now, so to avoid him questioning our presence, we hid. Dill behind a bush and me up a tree. From my spot at the top of the trees, I could see the guy walking around, obviously terrified by now. Every cracking leaf, every snaping twig, every rustle of the branches freaked him out. That's when Tom decided it was time to end this. He silently walked right behind him. The guy turned when he heard a sound, and now stood frozen in place. I put a hand to my mouth when his pants began to turn a shade darker. He ran as fast as he could, right for the exit of the woods, screaming one of the girliest screams the whole time.

We all regrouped in a clearing, looked at each-other for a few seconds and then all burst into laughter. My own laughter stopped, I was too busy listening to his. When we returned to calm, he looked down to me. "You really like my laugh don't you?" I knew I probably blushed, but I kept my gaze set on where his eyes would be. "It's the most amazing sound I ever heard" He brought me closer to him and kissed me. Every time we did, it felt magical. It was hard to describe, it was like when he sent me that calming static thing. Only it was much more powerful. It made me feel like I had a burning flame inside me and lightning going through my veins.

Looking back up, I noticed Dill smilling a huge smile, looking right at us. "You guys are the best couple ever! You're like, better than any couple from any of the fanfics I read!" Me and Tom looked at each other. "You read romance fictions?" We then turned to each other with a smile. We had spoken in unision. He then paled a bit and looked shocked. "Uh...I-I I didn't mean to let that out...it's my guilty pleasure." He looked so embarassed, I felt bad. "You're not the only one to have a guilty pleasure. Mine is..well..." I gave an appologetic glance to my boyfriend. "Imagining me and Tom together. All the time. You might think it's normal, but I've been doing this since before we even got together..." I looked to the ground, embarassed.

Tom playfully lifted me off the ground in his tendrills. He gave me a look. "Well ever since I got this suit, I've been imagining you in a white dress!" I blushed maddly. Dill started laughing. "I actually totally see that happen. It doesn't really seem like either of you would let the other go." And just after he said that, Tom got a devious smrik. "Oh no...Don't-" But he let me go and I fell to the ground. I looked back up, punching at him playfully. It was starting to get late. Tom slenderwalked Dill back home, and then he came back for me. Back on the balcony behind my house, I looked him over again. "It's weird seeing you without your scarf." That thing was like an iconic part of him. He could lose his face entirely and you'd still be able to recognize him just because of that one accessory.

I was able to identify him though. His face was rounder than most people, and it's shape didn't change along with the rest of him. It should also be noted that, although it shrunk in size and became nearly invisible, his nose still held it's original shape. He also had his distinct aura around him. I remember when I had met his parents. Their's weren't the same as his. He smiled at me. "It feels weird to not be wearing it. I think I've had that thing on every day of my life for years." I rested my head on his chest once more for a bit, then let go and watched him fade away. I'd see him again at school tomorrow.

I couldn't wait to tell Angie everything about our little plan.

"Wait, you guys made him piss himself?" "Yeah! It was awesome!" We laughed for a bit and went over every detail of what had happened. I wondered where the guy had gone afterwards. Probably crying to his mommy. He'd need to go buy himself more over-priced, already damaged designer jeans. I was then overcome with fatigue. "I should go to sleep. You should too, you look just as tired as I do." She looked down. "I do?" Why was she so stressed? "Yeah. You didn't get much sleep last night, did you? What's up?" She bit her lip. "Well, I accidentally let it slip and told Johnny I love him. He just looked at me and didn't answer... He hasn't talked about it since." I didn't know what to say. I never liked a guy in my life before this! This was my first relationship ever and the dude wasn't even human! I didn't exactly trust myself too much with relationship advice. Although we had both said we loved each other..."Well, I'm sure he loves you too! He's just struggling to say it." She looked a bit unconvinced, but still nodded at me.

"Well, you should sleep tonight!" "Yeah." "Good night" I went to bed, falling asleep much slower than the past two nights. _Tom was there for me the past two nights. _I shut my eyes tighter and held my little turtle as I finally drifted off to sleep. I did have a dream that night. It wasn't a nightmare, but it was odd.


	20. Chapter 20

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 20 Dreamworld**

I stood in the forest where we usually met. I decided to walk around. As I wandered about, I saw an unexpected sight: a hot dog stand run by a clown. "Um, excuse me sir, what are you doing selling hot dogs in the middle of the woods?" He turned and looked at me. "Well, what else do you expect me to do?" "Uhm...I don't know, go in the city?" He looked wide eyed and started laughing. "The city?! But then I'd have no customers!" I looked to him in confusion. Just then, a tribe of dwarves walked over to the hot dog stand. They carried lanterns and shovels and had tall pointed hats of various colors like in the movie Snow White.

"We would like to have some hot dogs!" They all said in unision. I started to slowly back away until they were out of sight. I resumed my walk, noticing a few winged oranges perched on some branches and a couple purple monkeys running about on the path. I arrived at a clearing and Tom was there, dressed in his Slenderman suit but still in human form. "Hello there, my dearest Sarah. Would you like to dance?" He spoke with a British accent. With little hesitation, I agreed. I was shocked because I had never danced before in my life, but I was doing surprisingly well. We twirled around in the clearing, leaves falling around us.

I went to look into his eyes but fell backwards in shock when, instead of finding him, in either of his forms, I saw the head of a chicken. He began to cluck and peck at the ground like any other bird. He extended 8 tendrills and started to flap them like wings and took off. I got up and saw the orange goat from the zoo was standing next to me, only it appeared to have grown a bit. I got on it's back and we rode off, dashing through the woodland. Oranges flew away as the goat approached, hooves thundering. We got to a lake and I saw my familly standing there next to it. Tom's parents were also there, as were Dill, Angie and Johnny. Several people from school were also present.

Tom rode in, in slender form, sitting on a large brown goat that was wearing a scarf identical to his. Everyone but the two of us began to chant. "FOOD FIGHT! FOOD FIGHT! FOOD FIGHT!" From the depths of the lake, there rose various baskets of food. Tom picked up one of them and so did I. The food was passed around to everyone there and soon, fruit and bread and other various things were being hurled around. Oranges and tomatoes splattered on the ground, Johnny flew backwards from the impact of a loaf of bread, my dad jumped up with a war cry as he threw a lemon at Martha's face. The two goats locked eyes and began to charge. We couldn't control them and soon, they collided.

I jolted awake, looking around my room. Light shone in through the curtains dimly and I got up. I checked my phone for the time. 6:47. I still had a few minutes to rest. I laid back down and closed my eyes. The heck was that dream? Sometimes I think I'd be both a psychiatrist's dream come true and their worst nightmare. An other thing brought my eyes back wide open. I looked at the date on the phone again. October 27th... Halloween was in 4 days! And I didn't have a costume yet. I usually plan this months in advance, but I guess my mind was occupied in the last few weeks...or months. God, had multiple months really passed since the day I met Tom? Since I found out he was a slender, since I learned I liked him and since he liked me too... My heart rate quickened and I knew I wouldn't be going back to sleep. Well, I might as well get up.

"What have you been taking to have a dream like that?!" Dill almost screamed as I recalled my dream with the guys at school. "Honestly, I never drank anything alcoholic and I've never smoked anything in my life." He blinked and averted his eyes. Tom remained silent and smirked. "What's so funny?" "You dreamed that you were dancing with me..." I bit the inside of my cheek and smiled as well. I decided to change the subject. "So what are you two doing for Halloween?" Both boys looked at me. "Well, we don't have anything planned. We can't keep on scaring people on that night, they'll think it's just some Halloween prank and won't buy it. We are gonna dress-up though. I'll be an Indian." Dill, a little too excited, added: "I'm dressing-up as Cinderella!" There was an awkward silence as we looked at him.

I tried to picture him in a blue dress and started to giggle. "That would be brilliant!" Tom agreed, he then looked at me. "What about you?" I looked down. "I-I haven't decided yet. I was thinking maybe...wolf princess?" Through the tangled strands of his hair, I saw him raise a brow. "That'd be cool. Hey, we could match!" I smiled shyly. Dill got back into the conversation. "Why don't you dress up as Slenderman, Tom? It would be fitting." "A little too fitting. We wouldn't really want people to get suspicious and realize that I pretty much really am." "Yeah, like anybody is going to think that. Seriously, what kind of person could imagine slenderfolk turning into kids and going to school?" Just after thinking back to our conversation, I was glad we were the rejected kids. If people paid attention to us, they'd probably found out ages ago. Especially since Tom liked to mess with me by grabbing my hand with his tendrills under the table in art class...

Getting home that night, I went to the bookshelf in my room. There was a real fur wolf tail there. I didn't really wear it because it wasn't exactly a common accessory and I didn't exactly feel like being set asside even more... I looked to my closet and saw a black skirt. Yes, I owned skirts. I just never really wear them. Well, this would be easier than I thought.


	21. Chapter 21

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 21 Halloween Night**

I looked at myself in the mirror. I had managed to craft myself a set of wolf ears from an old pair of grey socks and found a tight black shirt to go with the skirt. I had a pair of black leggings and some shiny black shoes. The tail wavered around as I moved and I had managed to find my old wolf-claw necklace I got at a zoo when I was younger. I was then startled when I heard a voice from outside. "You done yet?" I went to my window and was hit by the fresh fall air. Tom sat where he usually did, on that beam over the window.

He was wearing loose tan colored pants and a sand colored shirt. A belt of wooden beads was wrapped around his waist. His usual scarf had been folded and he wore it as a headband. A few white and grey feathers were stuck here and there in his curled brown hair. He dropped down to ground level. "Hey, Tom... There's a question I've been meaning to ask you?" He tilted his head to the side like a confused dog. "And what's that?" "If you can only slenderwalk to places you've seen, how did you find my house in the first place?" His eyes widened and he opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it, his cheeks being colored a bright red. "I...I followed you home from school once." Now it was my turn to go wide-eyed.

"But that's like a 45 minute walk!" He looked down and started to scratch his arm. "Well, you felt special... Your aura was different. I thought... I don't know... I felt I had to." I snickered. "Slenders..." He chuckled at my response. I smiled and reached up to kiss him. His eyes widened once again briefly before he returned the kiss. He was the one to usually go for it, this was the first time I had actually kissed HIM! It didn't last long. He was already white as a sheet and his hair looked thinner. He swatted me away in a playful manner. "Hey hey hey hey! I had to do my hair here with all the feathers and stuff because I wanted to see you this morning, you're not gonna make me have to do it again at school!" I laughed. I had overlooked that slight detail. When I looked up again, he was back to his ordinary human hues.

We took the bus to go to school together. People from school, recognizable for all being in costumes, were giving us odd looks. I supposed a few of them knew Tom lived several streets away from my house and it seemed illogical for him to be going to school from there. I blushed when I thought of what some of them might be thinking, only to feel a slight sensation of embarassment at the edge of my conciousness. He didn't show any emotion on his face and his eyes often looked cold. It was as though they were devoid of emotion, only showing a certain soul-piercing intelligence. They gave you the feeling he knew everything about you, but you nothing of him. But because he liked to bring his mind close to mine, I could pick up on his emotions at times.

The day was uneventful for the most part, which is odd because it's the one day of the year where everyone can dress-up however they please at school. Dill really did dress-up as Cinderella, he even had a wig. The only thing is, he had no make-up on, kept his glasses and even added in a fake mustache just like the one Tom used. The result was quite striking, especially with his somewhat feminine shape. The kid was so obviously gay, but it didn't matter. He was still cool. Everyone cheered when he won the competition for the best costume. Me and Tom got several compliments for the way our outfits sort-of matched. He held my hand and brought me around the various classrooms, having me interact with a few people. Had he not been here, I'm pretty sure I would have just stayed in my own little corner, doing nothing and staying silent. I wouldn't be meeting several people like this and I wouldn't be having so many conversations.

I was surprised when I arrived in front of several people and to see that they spoke and acted exactly as I had expected them too when I had first looked at them in the beginning of the school year. So many of them were just...bland. And those who did seem more entertaining and that I got along with well were still somewhat dumb and not very complex. I managed to catch Tom smirking a few times when I got annoyed at whoever was surrounding me, as he was obviously feeling my own emotions.

After school was done, we walked out together with somewhat large bags full of candy. Before we arrived at the branching path that led to the woods, he stopped me. "Hey wait a second, you said you never played a first person shooter, right?" I blinked. "Uhm... yeah. Why?" He smiled and grabbed my hand, walking past the path and towards his house instead. Upon getting inside, Martha arrived to greet us. "Oh hello there sweetie! How are you doing?" I felt her mind against mine, but tried to ignore it. I had nothing to hide. "Fine. You?" She smiled and continued to speak in her cheery voice. "Tom, we're going to go trick or treating with Leo, ok?" She then left. As we headed to his impressive game room, I asked. "Who's Leo?" "My little brother." "I didn't know you had a little brother." He looked kind of sad for a second. "Yeah... He doesn't have his powers yet so my parents don't give him as much attention. It's sad..." I thought back to what he said to me when I found out he was a slender. They're born as their human form and get their powers later on...

He scratched his back before removing his shirt and tossing it carelessly across the room. I looked at him with a brow raised as he took the scarf off his head and casually wrapped it back around his neck. He looked to me with a sly smirk. "What? that shirt was itchy!" I smiled and looked down, knowing I blushed. He looked over to his expansive game library and I couldn't help but bring my stare to his bare back. There was four large splotches of a slightly darker color, which anybody else would have easily identified as birthmarks. Without turning around, he simply stopped moving and casually said: "You're really facinated by my tendrills, aren't you?" I had to admit I was. He turned his head to face me and, slowly, the spots darkened before the long shadowy appendages extended from them. He curled them slightly, which I understood was stretching them, and then he let them hang somewhat limply by his sides. He returned to sit next to me, various games in hand.

15 minutes later and I realized I was really bad at this type of game, though he insisted I was pretty good for someone who just started playing this for the first time in their life. I felt his aura reach me as he looked down. It was a powerful, instinctual feeling. I approached him and laid my head on his chest. He took the game controller from my hand and set it on the floor before kissing me, his tongue finding it's way into my mouth. It rubbed against mine and I felt his teeth growing sharp. This was only the second time we had ever French kissed and God did it still feel weird. He pushed me backwards so that he was on top of me. We broke appart when a white feather landed on my forehead. I looked where his eyes had once been and started to laugh as all feathers that were once in his hair were now scattered around. He laughed too, sending shivers down my spine as he pointed to the drool that coated my chin. Before I could wipe it off, he made my eyes widen in shock when he licked it off. Getting over the initial shock of that simple action, I looked up to him again, and in that instant, I knew I loved him and I wanted to stay with him for the rest of my life. I felt the sense of approval radiate from him.

**AN: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY I DIDN'T WRITE IN A LONG TIME OMG THIS FEELS GOOD TO WRITE AGAIN WOW I WROTE FOOD AT FIRST I AM GLAD I SPOTTED THAT MISTAKE! So...I feel so proud when I see that people all around the world are reading this ;-;...Like, seriously, I've got people in Egypt, in Norway, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Israel, Denmark... COUNTRIES I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HAD WI-FI! It makes me feel special in a way... Thank you, all you population of crazy fanfiction readers :3 Just looking at the number of people who read this makes me feel more uneasy and worried people I know might have found this :| Oh well! If they think I'm insane, well they're right! I just hope they don't bring it up in conversations ;-;...**


	22. Chapter 22

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 22 Psychic Link**

I had picked up a really strong sense of awkwardness from him. We both just sat there in silence for so long, for what could have been 5 minutes as easily as 3 hours. We didn't do anything, we didn't speak, we just sat there. He was the first to break the silence. "You sure you'd really want to spend the rest of your life with me?" I reached my hand out and he extended a tendrill and wrapped it around my wrist. "Yeah. You don't even need to ask." He smirked. I guess I would have liked him to have eyes at the moment, but even if he did, they're pretty hard to read, so I couldn't get a good insight on what he was thinking right now. I felt the sensation of his conciousness against mine, but this time, it was far more powerful. I looked up to him in shock when I very clearly heard a voice rising from deep within my own mind. "_Testing, 1, 2, 3. Are the stories I've heard true?..._" He turned his head to look at me and grinned. Again, from the back of my mind, I heard the voice rise. _"Judging by your face, I'm guessing it is. Try to answer me." _I opened my mouth briefly but shut it again. After a bit of focus, I think I got it. _"Tom? But how?! You told me you couldn't even hear my thoughts, just feel my emotions." _A slight blush tinted his pale cheeks and the feeling subsided. It felt odd having my mind mostly alone, even if I knew I could still feel it connected to his. Probably the same level of link we had before now... But for some reason, I felt like I needed to be closer.

"I heard it said once that when my kind choose their mates..." He looked over to me, his blush deepening. "...we gain a psychic link to them. I had to know if you really wanted to spend the rest of your life with me, because I sure do want to spend my life with you. But this link, we only have one...And it's only undoable through death..." I knew I blushed too, but I kept a normal look on my face. Something I picked up from him. He really thought me how to hide my emotions. I placed my other hand over the shadowy tendrill that was in it and looked up to him. "Maybe I'm only 15, so it might be hard to think of what could happen in the future at this point, but I know I wouldn't leave you. Would you leave me?" The serpentine limb wrapped it's self tighter around my arm and brought me closer. I felt his answer resonate through my mind. _"I'd never leave you. And now that I chose you, I can't even do it if I wanted to!" _I smirked. "Well, then I'll make sure you'd never want to." He kissed my forehead and I was slenderwalked home. I knew Angie was at a Halloween party with Johnny and she would probably be back soon. Maybe she was back already, it was 9 o'clock after all.

I didn't have to wait long for her to come online. Her face popped up on screen, painted to look like a skull. She was wearing a dark cloak. "Hey Angie, so how was your party?" She grimaced and a disgusted sound rose from her throat. "Bad music, too many people and a couple of idiots smoking. They're like, 12 years old! What's wrong with them?" "Well, I see a lot of that in my school, and it's far worst than just cigarettes." She shuddered. I decided to tease her. "You didn't party too much, right?" She started to laugh. "No, no. No drugs, no cigarettes, no alcohol." I did notice a blush on her cheeks though. "What have you and Johnny done?!" I said it in a mocked tone. "N-n-nothing! W-well...Mayb-be we kind of...made-out..." My grin widened. "Only that, wow. And what happened to you saying you'd never tongue kiss Johnny that one time?" She blushed even more. "Well, y-you did it once!" "Twice." She paused briefly and looked at me, raising her left eyebrow, which had for effect to crackle her face-paint slightly. Now that I paid more attention to her, I did indeed see that the make-up had run under her chin. I smirked deviously, just like she had to me so many times.

Time skip to several minutes later and you'd find out that I had told Angie about how me and Tom gained a psychic link. "Wait, wait, wait...so you two can talk to each other with your minds now? Dude...imagine all the tests you could cheat on!" I laughed. "No, we're not that unfair. And, by the way, we both get nothing lower than a B+ in anything, so I think the idea of cheating is obsolete." "You use really complex words... Hey hold on, how did you say you got your psychic link again?" I blushed and looked down, rubbing my arm. I realized that that was a trait I had picked up from Tom. "He...picked me to be his "mate"." "And what does that imply?" My eyes widened and I blushed even more. "Wha..." "SARAH, WHAT HAVE YOU TWO DONE?!" I could tell by her tone of voice she was joking and I started to laugh, almost falling off my chair. I was able to catch myself before falling on my own this time, no slender needed. "Wow Angie, I didn't know you were this much of a pervert." "Hey, I didn't say anything, you thought of that, you the perv." She looked satisfied with herself and twirled a strand of her hair playfully. She looked back to me though. "No, but seriously, did you?" My eyes briefly widened before I gave her a death glare through the screen.

She smiled again and laughed. "Ok, ok, I'm kidding! I trust you!" I laughed too. Her expression was serious once again though. "But doesn't that imply you will in the future?..." My face got red and I couldn't help but shout. In a friend way, mind you. But I still shouted. "SHUT UP! Can we just change the subject please?" She went on to describe her first tongue kiss, which I have to admit, I was only half paying attention to. I didn't care that much and it was kind of awkward. I briefly noticed that my link with Tom was still somewhat present, even at this distance. I closed my eyes briefly, feeling a wave of exhaustion come over me. It was getting late, and tomorrow was Friday. We were supposed to go scare people after school before my dad came to pick me up... "Hey Angie, I'm getting kinda tired, so I'll go now, is that ok?" "Yeah sure!" I smirked deviously once more. "Sweet dreams...about Johnny..." She blushed lightly before getting a smirk of her own. "Sweet dreams to you too, about Tommy..." I smiled and switched off Skype...well, as off as Skype can be.

I got in my pyjamas and went to bed. _Tommy? That sounds so silly. It's too...adorable. Tom's not adorable, he's powerful...and charming. _I chuckled slightly at my own thoughts and drifted off to sleep surprisingly well. Probably because of my enhanced mental link I had with him.

**AN: Ok, I have to admit, I had no idea how to do this chapter :s Well, beyond the third paragraph XD Mwahahahahaha I never made it clear if they did or not have fun deciding what happened for yourself :3 I am so evil... I made you use...YOUR IMAGINATIONS! DUNDUNDUN! No but if you want my version of it, they didn't...they just kind of made-out on the couch and stuff and didn't talk because "Tommy" was feeling awkward cuz he wanted to give Sarah that psychic link...which is given through some kind of weird magical slender way that may or may not involve leprechauns riding down on rainbows to sprinkle them in fairy dust and unicorn urine... Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! I can't call you bros cuz Pewdiepie already does that and I'm pretty sure most of you are girls, and if you're guys, well I don't really care. Like whatever you want. WOW THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE IS LONG! Btw, I only figured out that AN meant Author's Note like a year after I started reading fanfics :x embarassing...**


	23. Chapter 23

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 23 Great Minds Think Alike, and More.**

_"So, how's science going for you?" "Meh, fine. What about you?" "I already know all this stuff! This is boring." "I know, eh?" _It was so odd having the ability to speak to each other through our minds. To me, it felt natural, as though we had always had this. I returned my attention to the front of the class as the teacher was describing that when you use a band saw, it's very important to not stick your fingers into it. Well thank you! I didn't know that! I have to say, I did very much enjoy using the saw and I loved the scent of burnt pine that came with the cutting of the wood. The scent of pine... It was so serene. We had to build...well...nothing specific. We just needed to create several specific shapes and just nail them together however way we wanted to. I often questioned how this was high school... I felt..well, it's hard to describe...the feeling of laughter? I felt the feeling of laughter rising from the back of my mind.

Our mental link appeared to, not only allow us to comunicate, but it seemed to have blended our minds in a sort of way. This showed when Dill arrived to us at lunch time to go over the plan for this evening...and we were all stunned at how we talked. "Well, it's actually simple this time.""I just have to show my lack of face to a few people...""...on the edge of the woods.""Hopefully,...""...they'll get freaked out and continue to spread the rumor." Dill's jaw was almost at the floor and he just looked at us in stunned silence. It took about 2 minutes for us to realize we had been talking in turns.

Tom opened his mouth briefly, but shut it. He grabbed the end of his signature scarf and flung it over his shoulder. It managed to make two full turns around his neck. _"How do you go about telling your best friend you can speak with a girl telepathically?" _I put a hand to my mouth, trying to conceal my smirk. What he said wasn't exactly funny, it's just that that much of a feeling of desperation over such a small thing...and coming from him? He had super powers! His brain was dozens of levels over everyone else's. I know he told me we were even, but now that I had the full contact of his mind, I did feel a slight buzz in the back of my mind at times. I was able to will it away, but it was still there. That buzz indicated that his mind was indeed vaster than mine. _"You should try to compare the part of my mind devoted to imagination to your's, then we'll see." _I smirked.

So it was time for some explanations again... Tom started to speak, obviously shy about the whole "we are now mates" thing... "It's like a slender's version of asking a girl to marry her... the only thing is, you can't divorce from this. We bassicaly entangled our very minds." To my relief, Dill proved ro be much less perverted than Angie, but he did kind of stress us with his next comment. "So you guys are gonna get married when you're older? I wanna be invited!" We both bit our lip. There wasn't any response we could give to that, because we both knew it was true. I'm 15 years old and pretty much engaged... and the guy's not even human! Oddly enough, this didn't stress me for long, and I instead felt a sense of peace. I knew what my future held. I didn't have to stress about who I'd be with when I'm older and if I'd ever get married and to a certain extent, if I'll get enough money from whatever job I do to have my own home. Tom told me that there were places where slenders lived away from civilization, so if things turned out bad for both of us, we'd be safe. Glancing to my left, I noticed Tom's somewhat distant stare and serene expression. He was feeling the same peace I was. He snapped back to reality quickly though. This was so weird...

After school, we went to the woods. Tom started to change his form. It was obvious that Dill was still kind of freaked out by that. I tilted my head to the side, looking in awe as his tendrills simply passed through the fabric of his olive green sweather as if they were a gas, but I knew that they were solid. I was facinated by them. I hadn't noticed until he brought it up last night. _Last night? It felt like I've had this power my whole life! _He slenderwalked away, dissipating into the air like smoke and reappeared a few minutes later, now in his suit. He smirked and lifted the black dress-shirt slightly to show his scarf wrapped around his pale waist. "It just feels wrong to not have it." He wandered about into the woods, leaving us to trail in silence behind him. I looked down to his feet and was impressed. He walked, but his footsteps made no sound. Like some kind of ghost. Even if the forest floor was littered with dead fallen leaves... Me and Dill had no purpose in this scheme, so we were just hanging back to watch. It was pretty funny.

The first targets of the night were a pair of shockingly dressed teenage girls, who looked like they should be 18 but might have been 11 for all I know. Their shirts, blue and aqua, went over their belly buttons. They had mini shorts and faces so heavily covered in make-up that they looked like they weren't even living humans, but rather dolls brought to life. A simple snap of a twig was enough to bring their attention over to the tree line. Their eyes darted about. "Yo, Cass. I heard it ain't safe here. People said they seen the Slenderman out here!" "Shut-up Tiff! There ain't no such thing as the Slenderman!" I couldn't help but reach to Tom's mind. _"Double negative, that mean's he, I mean you, are real."_ The feeling of laughter resonated in my mind.

Wherever he was, they've spotted him right about now as they clung to each other, frozen in fear for an instant. I followed their gaze and found him, just standing there, doing nothing. Seeing as they were just backing away slightly, he extended his tendrills and began to waver them around. That was enough to get the girls running. We had two more victims this night. A fat man jogging, who ended-up sprinting and, interestingly enough, my science teacher. After all these times scaring people, nobody had peed themselves other than that bum looking guy. We met back at the clearing. "Well, I'll be seeing you guys at school!" Dill walked off, leaving us alone.

"So... You had a dream that we were dancing in these woods?" I blushed and looked up to him. "You also turned into a chicken in that dream." I stared up at his blank face. That was an advantage of him being faceless at the moment. His eyes could be quite soul piercing at times and I have to say, they unsettled me. Now, I could stare him down and feel nothing. The corner of his almost invisible mouth twitched into a smile and he extended his arm over to me. "Wait, you're serious? I can't dance!" He still looked at me, unmoving, his expression the same, but in the back of my mind, I felt his voice. _"Please..." _I gulped and took his hand.

I'm not sure how I did it, but soon, we were twirling together under the quickly fadding rays of the sun that streamed through the almost bare branches. "You're pretty good." I smiled, but part of me didn't entirely believe him. Reaching under his dress-shirt, I pulled off his scarf and wrapped it around his neck. I randomly felt like asking. "Can you hear my thoughts now?" He answered as he took me and spun me around, bending closer to my face. "Only when you want me to." I smiled and he slowly pressed his lips to mine. Our little moment was interrupted when an all too familiar voice rose from the darkness. "I'm not sure if I think you guys are cute, or sickening."

**AN: DUNDUNDUUUUUUUN :O Yeah like there's a million possibilities of who that could be... But... LOLIMEWIRE DO WHAT YOU WANT CUZ A PIRATE IS FREE, YOU ARE A PIRATE!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 24 Old Face, New Friend**

Tom would have dropped me to the ground if it weren't for some of his tendrills that he had wrapped around me. Jessie was standing tall at the end of the clearing, her snow white arms crossed over her chest and her faceless head tilted to the side. Tom protectively stood in front of me, but I felt that he was still relatively calm. _"I don't sense any threatning thoughts from her." _I nodded to his statement. Jessie's posture straightened out and she took a step back, her heavy tendrills wavering around behind her. "You two have a psychic link, don't you?" Tom reached back and grabbed my hand. She let out a dark chuckle that was filled with more sadness than anything else. "We'd been together three years and the thought never came across your mind to link us, but you've been with her three months and you're already linked." My eyes widened. _"You two were together that long?"_

I felt so...bad. I just showed up out of nowhere and took him from her after they'd been together three years. And now, through whatever kind of twisted slender magic, we were stuck together forever. I was just a human. They were two of a kind... I felt him hold my hand tighter. _"You're more like me than she could ever be." _Internal monologue asside, we returned our attention to her. She looked over her perfectly manicured black fingernails and spoke casually. "Relax, lovebirds. I know you two are right for each other. But, I still have feelings for him." She pointed a long and bony finger towards Tom. "And that's why I'm going to help you." Surprised. If any one word could describe us at the moment, it would be that. She continued. "I'm a slender too, and maybe I don't feel any attachement to this place, it would hurt me if it died. I've been paying attention to the rumors of this area. I knew it was you the moment I heard of the Slenderman sightings. I want in." Me and Tom looked at each other. I was the one to answer. "I don't have a problem with you, but you're...a girl... I'm not entirely sure how you could help, seeing as we're trying to pass off as the Slenderman."

She looked irritated. "Uhm, sweetie. Look at my "face". Only my "face". Do I look really girly to you right about now?" I had to admit, no. Blank, white and featurless, no hair, no nothing. There was no way of telling her gender just by looking at her face, or lack of one. Maybe she was on to something... "I suppose not. Sure, why not? You know what they say, the more the merrier!" Tom snorted and tried to keep back a laugh. Jessie looked confused and agitated. "Gamer joke." "Ah." She came closer to the two of us, shaking my hand. There was no agression in the gesture, and I knew just by looking at her that she was sincere. This girl was more than just some empty minded antagonist who serves no other purpose than to make my life miserable, she was a living person with emotions, goals and morals. _She had been with him three years... _It was a forced relationship, mind you, but she had developed feelings for him.

The three of us decided to walk around and talk. I felt so..small. They both stood nearly 8 feet tall and possessed incredible powers that could kill a highly trained fighter in an instant. I quickly noticed that there were things they spoke casually about that I struggled to keep up with, seeing as it mainly revolved around their powers. Tom showed a great level of pride when he announced that he found something he was actually gifted at. "I can slenderwalk to locations I've only seen images of." Jessie stopped walking briefly. "That's never been done before..." She spoke, her voice slowly fading away into an almost whisper. I felt a slight guilt coming from Tom. She obviously more than liked him. He didn't want to hurt anyone innocent, and I felt that way too. I lowered my head in silent shame. _"Don't blame yourself, none of this would have happened if it weren't for me. You two would still be together." _I felt a slight sense of annoyance coming off of him and a light buzz of static filled my mind. It wasn't painful, just not comfortable. _"When Jessie leaves, you are so getting a frustrated kiss." _I smirked. The female slender looked at us pensively, clearly pondering the fact that we were very obviously communicating in a way only the two of us could hear.

She raised the awkwardness level slightly when she decided to bring up something I wasn't really aware of. "You do know that if you two ever have children, they can't be gifted and there's a chance they have no powers at all?" My first reaction was to blush and bite my lip. "Dude, I'm 15. I'm don't really feel like thinking about having kids and all that. If I ever do, it's for much, much later." After a bit of thinking, I realized what this meant for Tom's side of the family. His parents...his grandparents, pretty much all his family! They had been pure blood slenders for generations. Most of them were gifted from what I heard. I wasn't aware that if we had kids, they had absolutly 0 chance of being gifted. And the thought of them being ordinary humans had never crossed my mind. Tom scratched his neck awkwardly. "I...It doesn't matter. She's right, we're just 15. Let's talk about something else." Jessie nodded.

After everything, she wasn't a bad person at all. She was pretty cool. As she announced that she was going to go home, I grabbed her wrist before she could fade away and looked up into where her eyes would be. She recoiled in shock at my gesture, but I still spoke. "You'll find someone for you someday. I know you will." She looked down at me for a bit, before the corners of her mouth twitched into a faint smile. She nodded and fadded away, like smoke in the wind. Tom also smiled to me gently. "You're really something special, you know that?" I giggled. "Yeah, says the non-human faceless guy with tentacles." He smirked and wrapped three of his tendrills around my waist and lifted me off the ground. He leaned his forehead against mine and our noses touched. His skin was so cold, but I didn't mind. I felt his warm breath blow softly on my face, smelling like pine trees. Our lips then connected, this time, uninterrupted. I felt one of his pointed teeth poke at my lip, sending a shiver down my spine and the feeling of static washed over me. He set me down and took me home. My mom arrived just a few seconds after. I heard a knock on my bedroom door. "Sarah, will you come out here and do the dishes please!" I motioned to Tom to go and he fadded away. An old enemy became a new friend today. It was a good day.


	25. Chapter 25

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 25 Leo's Secret**

The first thing I had noticed when I was in the car, heading to my dad's house, was the gradual lessening of my psychic link with Tom and the horrible emptiness I felt when I was too far away from him to feel his presence. Thankfully, that didn't last long, as a few minutes after I had arrived, I felt his mind suddently reach mine as he appeared in my room. "It's hard to believe that emptiness is how it always was before our link..."I nodded in agreement.

Something I had to admit I loved about being at my dad's house was that Tom liked to spend the night with me. His presence was comforting, it made me feel safe, and I admit, I really liked to stare at his tendrills. They were just so...unnatural. I wanted to work in science when I grew-up, so something as unreal as those, or pretty much all of him, facinated me. An other week went by, an other weekend came and passed. Monday after school, I was to hang-out with friends. It was really just me going to Tom's house to play video games, but my mom didn't need to know that.

As we walked into the brightly colored hall, I saw a young kid, about 8 years old walking by. I understood right away that this was Leo. He had slightly curled blonde hair and blue eyes, like his brother, though not the same sureal pale color. He looked up at me, smiling as he slurped up some apple juice. "Hey. You must be Sarah." "Yeah. I am. And I'm assuming you're Leo?" He nodded. He then smiled brightly. "You're really pretty." I straightened up and blushed. "Uh...uhm...t-t-thank you. I honestly don't know what to say to that." The little kid turned around and walked away. "_You're mine, remember that." _I looked up to Tom who was sending me a mock death-glare. _"Always." _He seemed satisfied with my answer.

We decided to skip on the FPS games this time and decided for some more lighthearted multiplayer game, more specifically, New Super Mario Bros Wii. We were breezing through the levels, neither of us dying. That is, until I, who was playing as the yellow Toad, died randomly for no reason at all, even if I had been fully powered. I looked to my side to see Tom, giving me a look of pure innocence, but I could feel it in his aura that he was purely satisfied with his little trick. "No fair! You killed me..." He laughed and extended a shadowy tendrill towards me, pulling me closer to him. After a while, I heard his stomach rumble. I looked up to him to see a light blush on his cheeks. "Hehe... I haven't eaten much." I smiled. "Well, I'm kinda hungry too. Why don't we go get something? Wait...you guys do eat normal food, right?" He chuckled. "Yes, we eat normal food. I'd think you'd know that with all the time we spent together. Now let's go."

We were about to get to the kitchen when we heard a noise. The sound of something in there. We both knew that the only other person in the house was Leo, but we still decided to be cautious. Advancing without sound, or rather him without sound and me with a very light step, we reached the doorway only to both stop in surprise. The kid stood in the kitchen, yes, but he was also pulling down a cookie jar from a high shelf with a dark tendrill, which he manuvered in a somewhat clumsy way. He stiffened and turned around slowly, paling when he saw us. The appendage swiftly retracted into his back and he hugged the cookie jar, backing up until his back was to the fridge. "Uh...I..I...Um...How long have you two been standing there?" Tom had a much more bewildered expression than I did.

"Leo?... I thought you didn't have any of your powers yet." The child lowered his head. His older brother took the cookie jar away from him and placed it on a shelf before bending down so their eyes were on the same level. "I...I've had them for a while now. I didn't tell mom and dad anything because I knew they'd go nuts and start pestering me about it..." Tom smiled lightly and nodded, but I could feel that he felt somewhat hurt by this. I got the feeling that he and his brother were very close. His moments of reminiscing ended quickly though as he resumed inquiring his brother. "But, didn't it hurt when they grew out?" Leo tilted his head downwards, his hair falling in front of his eyes and he extended his four tendrills again. They had the same general look as his brother's, only a bit lighter and a bit stiffer. "More than anything I felt before." Tom raised an brow and brought a hand to his chin. "How did you hide them long enough to get control?!" The kid flashed a devious smirk. "I have my ways." I felt so out of place in this situation. Maybe I should leave the room... _"Stay." _I smiled and took a step forward.

Leo eyed us both. "Just like I have my way of knowing you two share a psychic link." His devious grin was wider than ever and both me and Tom blushed, him growing pale. Tom glanced at his little brother's wavering tendrills and, speaking maybe more to himself than anyone else, simply stated. "Mom and dad are gonna need to know..." "NO! Please... give me more time!" We had both flinched when we heard the little boy shout. Tom continued calmly, in an almost fatherly way. "They have to. They can help you get control, because right now, I can see you pretty much have none. And what are you going to do when you change for the first time?" The kid's expression of fear turned to one of profound thought, followed by an other devious smirk. "You tell mom and dad about my powers, I tell them about your psychic link." Our eyes widened. Tom stood up and backed away, until he was next to me. Looking down to his little brother, he grumbled quietly and I felt the pure annoyance and humiliation from his aura. "Grrr...Fine. I'll help you control your powers. But you keep quiet!"

As we walked back to the game room, his steps actually sounding hard against the floor this time, I couldn't help but let out a laugh. "He's your brother alright! Got the same genius you have." Tom seemed conflicted between his being outsmarted by his younger brother and me calling him a genius. I think he opted for my compliment as he gave me a light peck on the lips. "I don't get why it's such a big deal wether or not your parents know about his powers." He sighed. "Oh, when will we have known each other so long that I no longer have to teach you constantly about the different aspects of my kind?" He raised his eyes to the sky and lifted an arm up dramatically. I brought my hand to my mouth, keeping in my laughter. "Hey, that's what you get for choosing a human." He smirked at me and caused a slight buzzing static to fill my mind briefly, his way of telling me to shut up.

"It's because of how my parents are...being pure blood slenders, you'd get that they're kinda...traditional." He grimaced slightly and I guessed he didn't have the best time when he got his own powers. "You see, when we first gain our powers, our tendrills grow out...Which is horribly painful, mind you. We can't retract them for about a week, which means a week locked up inside the house. My parents, well...during this one week, made me do the most useless tasks to try to get me to control my powers. I'm not joking when I tell you they made me shine and tie my shoes using only my tendrills. I WAS SIX YEARS OLD!" I raised a brow and snorted at the idea. He then pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "And if you think that's bad, you don't even wanna know what they made me do after I transformed for the first time." I gave him a sceptical look and he opened his eyes, looking to me before answering. "One word. Lightbulbs." I giggled. I understood why the kid wouldn't wanna tell his parents if they were gonna use this as an excuse to make him do housework.

We played a bit more, our hunger forgotten with the current situation, before Tom's mind reached mine again. _"I'm telling my parents about his powers anyway." _I looked to him wearily. _"But what about what he said? He'll tell your parents about this." _I felt a sense of concern rise from him briefly and his eyes seemed distant, but he quickly returned to his usual emotionless expression and answered me. _"He's bluffing." _

**AN: Oh God this chapter was hard to write...not cuz of a lack of inspiration, but because I have a killer headache. Idk what's up with me... Earlier I was in a Skype call with my best friend and some dude I used to go to school with, but it ended up lagging a lot and we had to stop it. I started getting a headache sometime after when I started talking with him about Pokémon, so my best friend decided to tease me by saying it's a certain slender that's mad at me for talking to an other male xD Hey, I wouldn't mind! Don't judge me... Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! All you people in all your different countries and stuff... It's a huge world, but the Internet is pretty dang small.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 26 Guilt**

We had been keeping up the plan of scaring people around the woods until the Slenderman myth had trully and profoundly set in the neighbourhood. It got to the point where other local teens were pulling off similar pranks, so we didn't need to do it as much. I got to know Jessie a bit more. It was true that, when she got a suit of her own, it was difficult to tell the difference between the slender pair. There was some differences though. Her face was more oval, her neck longer and when Tom stood at about 8 feet tall, she was only about 7. _Only... _I found out that, despite her mother being a pure blood slender, her grandpa on her dad's side was human. I also learned something else that made me feel overcome with tremendous guilt.

Winter had started and I was treading through the snow, wearing a greyish-blue jacket. I was out here with Jessie since Tom had caught a slight cold. We finally decided that it wasn't really a good idea to do anything today, seeing as it was pretty cold and Jessie was getting frostbite on her tendrills. She walked by my side in a surprisingly skillfull way for a girl in high-heeled boots. Her fancy designer black coat flapped in the wind that streamed through the branches, her sleek black hair flailing behind her like a dark tornado. That's when she decided to bring it up... "Sarah...that day at the zoo, you remember that right?" I nodded. It wasn't exactly a pleasant memory. Her amber eyes looked moist and her voice wavered a bit. "Do you know what day that was?..." I paused. Nothing came to mind. "I'm sorry, I don't." She opened her mouth, closed it again and looked away. "That was...it was...it was my birthday." My jaw dropped. There was a silence where neither of us spoke. I noticed she was crying. Maybe she acted like an idiot, and I knew that I did nothing wrong, but I still felt horribly guilty. She was clearly miserable and it was my fault. "I...I'm sorry." She kept walking, her expression stone cold and neutral.

I then felt Tom's mind reach mine, in a complete state of panic. _"SARAH!" _We both paused when he appeared right in front of us. He didn't have a coat on and instantly started shivering. "Y-y-y'know w-what Leo said about w-what would happen if I t-t-told my parents?" My eyes widened and I paled. Jessie looked between us and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, a thunderous voice echoed through the forest. "THOMAS HENRY OAKSON! WHERE ARE YOU?!" I flinched back at both the sheer volume of the voice and the fact it spoke his full name. If he had eyes right now, they would have been huge. He stood in front of us protectively and we turned to see a very tall and very angry slender standing there. He had to be about 9 feet tall and wore a tan colored buisness suit and olive green pants. He was also shivering from the cold, but his rage obviously brought him to ignore that. Suddently, Tom didn't seem so powerful anymore. He was stiff and hunched over in fear, backing away slightly. "Dad..." Charles raised a few of his dark inky black tendrills, but his anger somewhat faded and he retracted them. Crossing his arms on his not-so-slender stomach, he now looked more dissapointed. "What were you thinking?! You just turned 15! How could you do something so irresponsible?." Tom lowered his head and me and Jessie looked at each other. "S-s-sorry..." He was shivering even more now, though I wasn't sure if it was entirelly from the cold.

Impulsively, I took off my blue jacket and handed it to him. He gave me a grateful smile and slipped it on, even though the sleeves only got to his elbows and the coat didn't reach below his belly button. Charles's features softened more and he only now noticed me and Jessie. "Oh...hello girls. I'm...sorry. I was just a little upset." Jessie put her hands to her hips and flipped her hair, looking at him with an indigniated face. "Huh, a little? Seriously, man! I am so out of here." She then changed to her slender form and fadded away. Charles looked like he was biting the inside of his cheek and looked back down to his son. "Y'know, in retrospect, I can kind of see why you left her." Tom greatly relaxed at this and was now smilling. The older slender was still dissapointed though, and with reason.

The cold was starting to get to me and I felt numb. I was shivering. My mind started to slow a bit but I still stood with them. Tom must have noticed me and tried to call to me, but I couldn't really register his speech so well. _"Sarah? Sarah you're too cold! I'll get you out of here." _I numbly nodded and he took my hand and brought me back home. I immidiately felt an awful stinging sensation when I was dramatically brought to so much warmth. He took the jacket off and placed it on my bed. I looked at it and chuckled. I think my senses were returning to me. "What's so funny?" "It's the same color as the shirt you were wearing the day I found out what you were." He looked at the jacket pensively before smirking. I grabbed a blanket from my bed and wrapped myself up in it. Tom wrapped his long, pale arms and a few dark tendrills around me too. I sat in my computer chair, enjoying the warmth. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard Skype. "Hey Angie." She looked us over, raising a brow as she silently judged the way we looked. Tom released me from his grip and returned his tendrills to his back. "Well, I have to go settle some things with my parents, I'll see you girls whenever." And with that, he fadded away, like smoke in the wind.

Now that I was alone with Angie, I let all the guilt rise to the front of my mind. She noticed my distress almost instantly. "Sarah, what's wrong?" Tears started to well up in my eyes. "It's my fault..." Angie sat up. "Your fault for what?!" I looked away. "So many things... You know when Jessie attacked us in the zoo? That was her birthday." I heard a slight gasp from Angie. When I dared to look back up at my screen, I saw that she had brought a hand to her mouth and looked at me with a concerned expression. "And now Tom is in trouble because of me. Because he picked me rather than a slender and now his parents are upset. Sometimes, I think it would be so much better for everyone if I wasn't here." Angie actually showed anger now. "Don't you dare say that! You're my best friend...I couldn't live without you! And don't blame yourself if Tom chose you, if anything, it means you're a great person. As for the zoo, you didn't know it was her birthday, and SHE attacked us. It's not like we did anything bad to her." I felt a tear slide down my cheek and I smiled faintly. Even after all this, even after sharing my very mind with Tom, Angie was still my best friend and she's the one I trusted most out of anyone.

I think I must have caught a cold too, as I was assaulted by a horrible headache that night. I felt Tom's mind reach me through the pain and gently try to calm me. I felt a pressure on my bed and a cold hand placed on my forehead. Calming static filled me and I felt a finger trace the side of my cheek, making me smile lightly. He was sick himself yet he still took time to take care of me. Before he left, I heard his voice resonate through my head, dispersing the pain and the negative emotions. _"Please don't blame yourself for anything, you made my life so much better."_.


	27. Chapter 27

**Nature's Spirit Chapter 27 Christmas Miracles**

I had caught a really bad cold and had been home for a week. Tom visited me often, using his powers to disperse my headaches. Jessie even showed up to visit me once. She seemed very uncomfortable with being here though and left. Things started to look up when my boyfriend slenderwalked into my room one morning carrying a newspaper. "Hey Sarah, check this out!" He shoved the paper into my hands. I read the headline, a smile slowly creeping onto my face. "SUNSHINE MART COMPANY GIVES UP PROJECT."

I looked up into his newly opened eyes, both of us grinning like idiots. "Our plan worked!" We both froze suddently though, because the door to my room swung open to reveal my mother holding a bowl of soup. She was still in a nightgown, wearing pink bunny slippers and had a cigarette in her mouth. She eyed Tom and I thanked the fact that at least he was human at the moment. "Sarah, who's this?" I looked up at her, my face redenning slightly. "Uhh...Tom." Her eyes remained emotionless and she turned her gaze over to him again. "He your boyfriend or something?" We both blushed and looked to each other and I stuttered an answer. "Uhm..w-well...yes." She set the bowl of soup down and, still emotionless, she turned to leave. Before shutting the door, I heard her muttering. "Never thought I'd see the day..." Me and Tom looked at each other, he suddently released the breath he had been holding that whole time. "Your mom is...something." I laughed. "Yeah...that's one word for it."

I started to eat the chicken noodle soup. Things had gotten better for everyone it seemed in the past week. Tom's parents learned to accept his choice, seeing as it was irreversable. Leo was learning to use his powers, I learned he had recently changed for the first time, Angie and Johnny's relationship was as strong as ever and the woodland was safe. The only issue I had at the moment was Jessie...I still felt awfully guilty about what had happened to her. It WAS my fault, even if I had not done anything essentially wrong. I felt static travel down my spine, calming me. I looked back to Tom who had a faint smile. Christmas was in only a few weeks and I didn't have any gifts for anyone yet! Well, I had been pretty sick...

As soon as I got some time all alone, I got to work. Ok, so I needed...3 large cardboards, all my coloring crayons, some strings, a few beads...I looked through some boxes and found an old necklace of mine, which had a shiny silver heart on it. I pulled the string, snapping it and retrieved the centerpiece. Every time I felt a sudden increase in my psychic link with Tom, I hid all of the things I was working on under my blankets. Weeks of work and I was finally done with everything. Just 2 days before Christmas. I was feeling perfectly fine by now and was currently at my dad's house. That horrible emptiness and silence in my mind still unsettled me, but I had to keep telling myself that I had lived like this my whole life. I was wrapping all the presents I had crafted. For the holidays, I had decided to spend a whole week at my dad's house, since I had no school to worry about. I fiddled around with the star shaped pendant my mother had gotten me. She might seem cold, worriless and emotionless at times, but she did care. I was to see Angie and Johnny later tonight. I'd be spending tomorrow with my dad and then I'd see my grandparents on Christmas day.

Just as I finished wrapping the last thing, I was startled when Tom's mind suddently contacted mine and he appeared in my room, though not alone. Jessie was also present, as well as a much smaller slender. He wore a red and green sweather with reindeer on it and only stood about 6 feet tall. I smiled, knowing right away who this was. "Hey Leo, so how are you?" It felt odd having to look up to talk to the kid. He grinned widely, showing his new fangs. Tom took my face in his hands and gently kissed me. I looked up and saw Jessie, holding her arm and looking very uncomfortable. I smiled and handed out gifts. Leo got a nice woven friendship bracelet in shades of brown and green. Tom paused, his breath caught in his throat when he removed the papers to see the drawing I made, which was of the Slenderman, of course! Though with a blue and grey striped tie rather than a blood red one. He hugged me gently. I looked up to Jessie and gave her a small box. Even if she had no eyes, I knew she was giving me a sceptical look.

She would have also widened her eyes when she opened the box to find a hand made necklace of black and silver beads, complete with that silver heart pendant. She looked up to me, not being able to find words, and then shocked us all by hugging me. I went stiff and giggled at the awkwardness. She said nothing more and just fadded away. Leo proudly demonstrated that he could slenderwalk out on his own. Soon, I was left all alone with Tom. He kissed me gently. "Thanks...for everything. I got you a gift too." He reached in his short pocket. _He wears those even in the middle of winter. _What he gave me was a little box, and inside, I found a set of custom earrings. They were silver and shaped into the Operator symbol, tiny faceted amethyst crystals in their center. I was speechless. Maybe I couldn't find my mouth, but I did find my mind. _"Thank you." _His lips brushed up against my forehead and he fadded away, like smoke in the wind.

The rest of the holidays went by fine. I had done a drawing of Angie and Johnny, but as cats rather than humans. Their snouts were pressed together and their eyes had heart shaped pupils. They both grinned and hugged me when they saw it. I had even gotten something for Dill...a dvd of the latest season of My Little Pony. He looked at me wide eyed when he got it. "How did you know I was a Brony?" I smiled. "Lucky guess." I went out in the snow that night, lying down in the soft white crystals, even if I had no coat on or anything. I was simply in my pyjamas, wearing white fuzzy slippers. I heard almost indistinguishable footsteps in the snow. "Hey." Tom sat down next to me, wearing his pyjamas. Part of my mind cursed the fact that it was winter so he had to wear a shirt, an other part of my mind cursed that part of my mind. When we're this close to each other, I didn't even feel cold.

He broke the silence by asking a simple question that left me dumbfounded. "Which side of me do you preffer? I mean...the human me, or the slender me?" Worry showed on his featurless face. I leaned my head against his pale arm, thinking about it. I loved both sides of him. He was just plain cute as a human and incredible and facinating as a slender. Yet, I knew that on the inside, he was one and the same person, regardless of his current appearence. I looked into where his eyes would be, for once thinking that it was abnormal for me to find this perfectly normal. "I love all of you, but it's mostly your aura that gets to me. And your mind...and the way you act...But most of all, it's your laugh." As if on cue, he laughed right there, I had come to hear it so many times, but it still had that same sureal effect one me. He placed his arm over my shoulder and wrapped a few tendrills around me, bringing me even closer and we gazed off into the stars together.

**AN: Hey! This story is coming to an end unfortunately, well no, not unfortunately, cuz I plan on writing a sequel! So ya...next chapter should be the last actual chapter to Nature's Spirit, my very first attempt at writing a fanfiction... I already have most of the sequel planned out, which greatly differs from this story, which I made-up as I went along XD And I have to say, I am surprised by the result. I knew I'd have aproximately 30 chapters, so getting 28 isn't bad at all, if I do say so myself. Anyway, thank you all for reading. I might take a break before I start the sequel, I'll probably write a crackfic just for fun...so ya...GOATS Bye. No, not really bye, cuz I'll start writing chapter 28 as soon as I post this! XD**


	28. Chapter 28

**Nature's Spirit Epilogue: An end Through a Beginning.**

It had been 10 years since I started going out with that one perfect guy, that one perfect guy who wasn't even human. My dark nature's spirit, Tom. Or Thomas Henry Oakson, as was his full name. I had also kept in touch with my best friend in the whole world, Angie Jackson and her boyfriend, who was still her boyfriend, Johnny Simpson. We didn't see each other that much, me and Tom being in university and Angie and Johnny having started a band, but for some reason, the guys had started to get really reclusive. They hung out with each other more and more, driving me and Angie a little paranoid. It was especially strange considering Johnny was freaked out by anything related to slenders, so seeing him get slenderwalked away with Tom was just a little abnormal. When I tried to reach Tom through our psychic link, he more often shut his mind away from mine, which worried me a lot. Today though, all four of us were supposed to go to the mall together. That same mall where we bought that fancy suit all those years ago to freak out people into leaving the forest alone...a forest, which we were proud to say, still stood tall, and even extended it's reach a bit. Leo now took over his older brother's position as the living myth. He wasn't that bad of a Slenderman, and it was awesome that his gift turned out being the ability to remove some memories from people.

I arrived at the mall to find Angie standing there. She had a black t-shirt with a skull on and a pair of black jeans, silver chains hanging from her waist. She had gotten a nose ring in the recent years and dyed part of her hair electric blue. I had also changed over the past few years, mainly getting a tattoo of dark flowers winding around my left hand. I also had a dark blue strand of hair. I'm not exactly the common image of a scientist, am I? Me and Angie simultaniously raised a brow when we saw the guys arrive, talking to each other and sharing a few laughs. Since when were they so close? Tom was mostly unchanged, still wearing those pale colors that I had always loved, still having that head full of perfectly curled brown hair and still wearing his signature scarf. The only thing really different was his slight mustache, a real one this time. Johnny had changed the most, also having a slight mustache now, as well as a goatee. He had a few lip and ear piercings and dyed his naturally golden brown hair electric blue to match with his girlfriend. They also had matching outfits of black, punk looks. I looked up into Tom's perfect sky blue eyes, recalling the first time I had ever looked into them.

"Dill's not coming?" Tom grinned and shook his head. "Nah. He's out with his boyfriend." Yes, Dill had admited to being gay a few years ago and had managed to find himself a boyfriend. He had also admited to have had a slight crush on Tom, which just made things really awkward... but he was pretty happy and moved on. We looked through the store, recalling all our good times we had had here as teens. It was funny, because out of the four of us, it was the most casually dressed and calm looking one that was doing the craziest things. He decided to race me going down the escalator, which were going up. No surprise that he won, but I still had fun. We walked by that suit store, now realizing that Tom looked exactly like he had desguised himself to buy the suit in the first place.

All was pretty cool and fun. We went to the food court to get something to eat. The guys were very gallant, offering to go get the food for us as I sat with Angie at the table. I briefly thought I saw a dude in a flashy pink shirt go by, but I couldn't find him anywhere when I looked up. I also thought I saw a woman in a black dress with long flowing dark hair. The guys returned, trying to make hot-dogs, burgers and french-fries(chips for you Brittish folk) look as classy as possible. Yeah, that worked well. It wasn't until we were done with the food and went to get up that we got the shock of our lives. Tom grabbed my wrists and Johnny took hold of Angie's. They spun us around until we two girls were back to back. Me and Angie's eyes then widened and we both gasped as the boys got down on one knee simultaniously, pulled out black boxes and spoke in uniscion. "Will you marry me?" Angie looked about to faint and I thought my heart was about to leap out of my chest. Me and Angie looked at each other briefly, before jumping into our respective men's arms. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" I hadn't realized I was crying until Tom reached up and wiped my tears off. Everyone around us started cheering and I was surprised to see that Dill and Jessie were indeed in the crowd, both filming. I blushed a bright red.

I almost laughed when the ring was slipped on my finger. It was an amethyst carved Master Ball. I looked up into Tom's eyes. "There's no escape from this." I laughed and kissed him. "Not like I'd want to escape." He had worked on managing to keep his human form when I kissed him, which was really conveniant right about now. I turned to see Angie crying in Johnny's arms, who held her tighly against himself, tears showing lightly at the corners of his eyes too. Angie showed me her ring, a golden ring with spikes on the top of it. We high fived each other and walked on, strangers cheering for us along the way. I felt a voice echo in my mind. _"I knew you'd say yes." _I smirked before answering him. _"I've been expecting this moment for 10 years. What do you think?" " My love for you is legendary." _And so this story ends with a new beginning. But where will life take us from now?

**AN: IT IS FINALLY COMPLETE! Oh God I had a lot of fun writing this. And it's done right before school starts again! I've had this chapter planned for quiet some time now. As I stated in the previous author's note, I will be writing a sequel. It'll be...drastically different from this story. It'll be told in the point of view of an entirely new character that was never introduced in this story. I'll give you a hint as to who she is: she's a slender. DEAL WITH IT! So this story ends...yay. Again, oh God I pray that nobody I know reads this cuz this fic is so awkward ;-; Thank you, all you crazy readers. I wanted to get this concept out. If I inspired you, well I'm glad. I will thank a few people who inspired me, but I'm sorry, I don't typically register the name of authors, but rather the fics they write. So, thank you to the author of ****Ambrosial Dreams. ****That was the first slender fanfic I read. I'd also like to thank the author of ****A Slender Chance**** and A Slender Child. You were great inspiration and your stories are easily in my favorites. I'd like to thank the author of ****When your dad is Slenderman.**** who I know actually reads this fic! Which makes me really proud... I never read past half of your story, sorry for that :/ But what I read was good and I should finish it someday. I'd also like to thank the author of ****Nightmares of the Damned.**** God that fic is good...it's so good, that I can completly over look all the grammatical error and keep reading. There's probably a lot more authors that I read their fics but can't think of right now, so...sorry...but thanks to everyone who reads me! It was fun! So, Until next time! ArashiKira out.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note:**

**Hey... So, I spent a lot of time re-doing this whole fanfic, hoping it'll be better...I know I still made a lot of mistakes. I'll try to read over and correct some of them. It was especially hard with my whole Internet crashing and the site going down and me forgeting my password... Still. I hope it's enjoyable! Why am I still writing bold if this whole "chapter" is an author's** **note? **There...Feels better. But it also feels weird cuz it's an AN not in bold... Anyway...

This fanfic is now complete. The sequel is already started, it's called Sakura's Journey and currently has 19 chapters. You should check it out if you loved this story. And even if you didn't...IT'S MUCH BETTER THAN THIS ONE.

I should also state that, due to me re-writting this and combining the original version's Chapters 2 and 3, I have one less chapter than I used to. This might result in reviews being inconsistent with chapters. I just felt I had to put the two in one...even when I combined them, they didn't even add up to 1000 words... This now has only one chapter bellow 1000 words, and that's the intro chapter. So ya...I hope y'all enjoyed! YOU TOO, YOU WONDERFUL SLOVAKIANS! And you'll see, A LOT of the minor characters of this fanfic gain importance in the second one... so try to remember things. They might matter in some way in the sequel ;)


End file.
